question_answer

Explain how pollution is caused to river water and what action the Government is taking to minimize it.                 (5)  

Answer:

Due to the requirements of the increasing population, large amounts of industrial effluent and untreated sewage are released into drains which ultimately flow into rivers. Further, due to requirements in agriculture and industry, larger amounts of water are being drained out from rivers. All this has led to increased pollution of the water remaining in the rivers. The government has launched various action plans to clean rivers. The major offensive in this regard is the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), which envisages pollution abatement in 38 major rivers covering 172 towns in 20 states currently. Under this plan, 4400 million litres of sewage is targeted to be intercepted, diverted and treated every day (information given by National River Conservation Directorate).