Water pollution in Ganges the main source of cancer

We never heard earlier that water pollution is causing cancer in any part of the world in such a huge number. But it is happening in one of the biggest democracies of the world. Yes in democracies there is a government of the people by the people and for the people. But in India apart from poverty, diseases and riots, the menace of water pollution is also playing havoc with hapless masses that have nothing to do with the corrupt government practices.

Bad news for Ganges communities

This is a bad news for all who live along the banks of Ganges in Indian estates of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. They are more susceptible to the fatal disease of cancer than their compatriots living in other parts of the India. Actually they have to pay the price for residing near the holy water of the river Ganges. Religiously its water is holy but from health point of view it has become poisonous and cancerous. They don’t have any choice but to drink the worst polluted water they get from their local water supply system which comes through this river.

Top five effects of water pollution on life

Top five effects of water pollution directly harm the human beings and animals more particularly and the overall environment in general. With the passage of the time the intensity of each of them is growing enormously. Each of them is playing havoc with the life and environment. Death rate due to water pollution is on the rise.

These top five effects of water pollution are given below.

Water-borne diseases

Water pollution is the main cause of several water-borne diseases. Effluent of the industries and waste water of the houses mostly mix into the water bodies without being treated. It is happening in most of the developing countries.

Top 5 steps to control water pollution

Top five steps to control water pollution can be taken everywhere but active participation of the stakeholders including industries, farmers, households, civic agencies and environmental watchdogs is must to make them successful.  The sincerity in purpose and will power to take these steps are also must to mitigate the menace of water pollution which directly hits our digestive system and causes several gastro related diseases - apart from several others - in human beings and animals.

Top five steps to control water pollution are workable only if the four key players to implement them not only cooperate with each other but also take their implementation seriously. Merely lip service to resolve the problems of water pollution is not sufficient to keep our water free from any grey menace.

Ocean pollution starts from land

In case of ocean pollution the famous dictum “as you sow so shall you reap” is quite incorrect. Here instead of ocean based activities mostly land based actions by human beings and machines pollute the ocean by and large. Seventy per cent of the earth is full of water and out of it nearly fifty five percent is of salt water that comprises of seas and oceans. It means thirty percent land is polluting the rest of seventy per cent water on earth apart from spoiling itself with various pollutants. It is rightly said that 80 per cent ocean pollution is generated by the land based activities.

Marine pollution also hits our belly

I am not kidding, am serious. Marine pollution does hit our belly. Yeah you are right it disturbs our digestive system if we eat sea food mainly fish, prawns, shrimps and lobsters caught from the polluted salt water. Therefore, this type of pollution should not be treated simply as an issue of the fish folk. It is our issue because whatever type of pollution exists in this world, we the human beings have to suffer first and after that our fragile environment and the ecosystem receive hit.

What is marine pollution?

Marine pollution means any type of contamination in all types of slat water including that of sea and ocean owing to release of various types of solid, liquid and even gaseous matter from identifiable sources like civic waste, industrial effluent, oil spill from ships or unidentifiable sources like dust and plastic particles with the wind pressure etc.

What is water pollution?

What is water pollution? Its answer is so simple. When water loses its natural composition owing to encroachment of any unwanted compound into it then it does not remain as pure water and called the polluted water. This situation in the water is widely termed as the water pollution which literally means the poor quality of water.

Water pollution has become global issue. Wherever there is water, pollutants are contaminating it in one way or on another and are causing water pollution. On the two-third part of this planet there is water and rest of the one-third comprises of the land. It means the water pollutants are so huge in size and so harmful in effects that they are damaging the natural features of huge amount of water available in the world and depriving us of the opportunity to consume the pollution-free water.

All the sources of the water including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, canals, streams etc are the worst hit of water pollution. The question arises here; who is polluting the water? Unfortunately we all human beings are contributing in one way or other, knowingly or unknowingly in polluting the water. It means all the human activities and their impacts are causing water pollution all across the globe.

A few decades ago there was no any serious threat of water pollution and as intense as it is nowadays. No doubt there was the problem of water contamination during older times but it was quite nominal. Thanks to the rapid industrialization and the urbanization all over the world which unleashed the menace of the water pollution. Does it mean the development is responsible for this havoc? Not at all; the unplanned and the disorganized development is the main cause of the all types of the pollution all around the world.

Types of water pollution

Technically speaking there are two main types of the water pollution.

Surface water pollution

The surface water is the entire amount of the water found in oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, stream etc. It may be further bifurcated into various categories according to its various other features like taste, place of storage etc. So wherever there is any sort of the contamination in the surface water it is called the surface water

Oil Pollution

Can oil be polluted? Are you thinking about this? Oil can be contaminated or adulterated but can’t be polluted. Any kind of liquid may not have as harmful effects as that of oil and the most harmful is its ability to put on fire. Then what is oil pollution. It is actually a wrong wording generally used for oil spills which means unwanted flow of oil into the water or land. But generally it is called oil pollution so for the convenience of the readers better to use the same term.

Oil pollution means spilling of the liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment more particularly into the marine environment. Oil in huge quantity is mostly transported trans-border through sea routes while its transportation within a country is done through a land route. Therefore, most of the oil pollution is occurred in sea water. Large vessels transport oil in big quantity from country to country and sometimes tanks lying over them leak and release a large quantity of oil directly into the sea. The leakages in fuel tanks of ship also cause oil pollution.

Other causes of oil pollution are rare. Like if a refinery is situated near the coastal area and releases the unwanted and bad quality oil directly into the sea causing oil pollution. It may happen in countries where there are no stringent laws to control flow of industrial effluents directly into the sea and other water bodies. Similarly boats which run on petrol or diesel mostly of fishermen folk also release the oil or diesel into the sea because of seepages into their fuel tank while moving on water.

Thermal pollution

When water quality is degraded due to change in ambient water temperature it is called thermal pollution which affects the overall water quality and such water termed misfit for consumption especially for drinking purpose.

Cause of thermal pollution

The main cause of thermal pollution is usage of water as cooling agent by power plants and industrial manufacturers. After usage as cooling agent water returns in water bodies with higher temperature and affects the overall quality of entire water which eventually mars the composition of ecosystem. Agriculture runoff and storm water discharged into surface waters from residential and agricultural areas also adds water temperature.

Effects of thermal pollution

In case of any change in regular water temperature all water species are badly affected and in some cases are killed due to sudden changes in temperature; it is called thermal shock. It usually happens due to scheduled shutdowns or repair and maintenance of power plants owing to that warmer water which releases from them stop for a slight span of time.

Ganges river pollution

The pollution level in river Ganges - the holies water body for Hindu folks - is 3000 times higher than the prescribed limit set by World Health Organization.  It hurts the largest river population in the world. Nearly 450 million people rely on water of Ganges for food, water, bathing, agriculture and religious rituals. Every year millions and millions of people visit this holy watery place to bathe and worship to please their gods.

Religious rituals not to be blamed

Religious rituals of Hindu folks can not be alleged of Ganges river pollution because whatever they do is according to their religious teachings and no religion can teach to harm the environment. Actually responsible agencies and departments have failed to mitigate its pollution level and have not yet come up with any plan to offset all such pollution load created by religious practices over there.

The ash of dead bodies is flowed into Ganges River according to traditions of Hinduism and it can not be held responsible for pollution in it because every body is allowed to exercise his or her religious right of whatever type and one can not declare any of such right as harmful to nature. Actually government and relevant departments have not developed any mechanism so that whatever ashes are flowed into the river Ganges could not become part of the silt in it nor it contaminates the river water but it can be removed from the water through a scientific or chemical process.

Nonpoint source pollution

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution means pollution being caused not from an exact source but like agriculture runoff which pollutes the rivers and other water bodies by getting mixed into them from thousands of acres of agriculture land. Similarly emissions from jet engines are also nonpoint source pollution. It may pertains to air, water and land pollutions because wherever there is no any exact point of emissions or effluent or waste it is called nonpoint source pollution.

Pollution from a source

Pollution being created from a source is not only easy to identify but its source can be regulated through green laws to check the emissions and effluent from it so that they may be contained to allowable limit. Like emissions from the chimney of the factory may be monitored and if these are emitted more than prescribed limits they can be regulated through environmental regulations and owner of such factory may be prosecuted to court.

Nonpoint source pollution

However, nonpoint source pollution can not be regulated because there is no specific point where from it is coming and that is why legal action can be initiated against the source which is spread to a broad area even of whole world if it an issue of climate change. Therefore, to control the NPS the role of communities and nations is of utmost importance as they can make the difference in this regard and feel their responsibility to stave off all such activities which may give rise to nonpoint source pollution.

Also read my article what is pollution control

Rain water

Rain water while flowing to downstream sheds the entire solid, industrial waste and effluent along its way and falls into a river or other water body and contaminate its water. It is a typical example of nonpoint source pollution as there is no exact cause of this pollution because we can not control raining. In this regard the only precautionary measure could be adopted is that there should be proper management system of solid waste, civic wastewater, industrial waste and effluent so that if rain falls its water sheds minimum of such wastes and effluent into the water bodies. However, rain falls everywhere and indiscriminately therefore the places where such effluent and wastes are disposed off may also receive heavy rainfall and theses stuffs may also flow with rain water to places where they should not move to.  

You may also read the article environmental pollution

Conclusion

Therefore, we can not be emphatic while suggesting solutions for nonpoint source pollution because its sources are spread to wide range of area. Only communities and nations could play their role to limit such sources which cause NPS everywhere. 

River pollution

When industrial effluent, civic wastewater, chemical waste, civic waste, hospital waste, nuclear waste, industrial waste, hazardous waste and agricultural runoff is thrown or dumped directly into the river advertently or inadvertently it causes river pollution affecting the quality of the river water and aquatic environment including fisheries, silt, flora and fauna and other living and non-living beings related to river.

Usage of river water

River water is used fro drinking purpose as it flows from river to lake and then canals and ponds. Thereafter, civic agencies either supply it directly to residential and industrial areas for consumption or in advanced countries it goes through a scientific process of cleansing and thereafter it is supplied to households, offices and factories. The wastewater is also treated by civic agencies and it is supplied again to end users to avoid water shortage if fresh water from various water bodies is not sufficient enough to fulfill entire water needs.

Who cares river?

Water is available in river without any outer protection therefore it is exposed to various forms of polluting agents and in one way or the other it gets polluted. However, aware communities harm all types of environment including river lesser as compare to those who don’t know the importance of natural resources for the survival of human life on planet Earth.

Who does not care river?

Mostly less aware or unaware communities play a significant role to pollute the river. They without any hesitation throw used items directly into the river and without any unease flow the waste water into the river while living adjoining to a river. Likewise industries unaware of significance of river environment directly flow their effluents and waste into the river just to avoid cost of treating and safely disposing them. Civic agencies just to avoid lengthy process of disposing of garbage and waste into designated landfill sites sometimes pile up them at places nearby river which flow into the river with wind pressure and causes river pollution. Farming communities flow the agricultural runoff including refuse of pesticide and chemical fertilizer directly into water bodies including river.

What to do?

It is the responsibility of both government and communities to play their due role to save the river from all types of pollution. Government should enforce laws to control river pollution and strictly implement them to punish those who pollute river intentionally or unintentionally. Similarly communities should realize their role to keep the river free from pollution as much as they can. They can bring behavioral changes in them regarding environmental care of river and don’t pass the buck to government or environmental law enforcement agencies to save the river from pollution. Together we can keep our environment free from all types of pollution. 

Also read water pollution and drinking water pollution.

Drinking water pollution

When potable water is contaminated by various sources like industrial effluent, solid waste, chemical waste, hospital waste, agriculture run-off, nuclear waste, wastewater etc it is called drinking water pollution. Drinking water is found in rivers, lakes, estuaries, streams, wells, canals, water courses, distributaries. It is one of the worst forms of pollution which directly hits the human health because life can’t be continued without drinking water and it intake is must.

Harms of polluted drinking water

By consuming polluted drinkingwater likelihood of various diseases related to gastro, joints, digestive system, immune system etc increased manifold. Hundreds of thousands of people die every year due to water born diseases which is end result of consumption of drinking water. 

Main sources of drinking water pollution

Effluent of industries and wastewater if flows into the fresh water bodies without being treated it reduces the mineral features of that water and creates several negative elements in it which directly hits the human lives if such water is consumed for drinking purpose. Therefore, stress is made all over the world that industrial effluent and wastewater must be treated before their final disposal. These two sources hugely pollute the drinking water.

Agriculture run-off is the second main sources of drinking water pollution as mostly farm lands are situated nearby of the drinking water reserves either in river, lake or estuaries. Therefore, the flow of agriculture runoff into them pollutes the fresh water and hits its positive features. Agriculture runoff includes entire agriculture solid and liquid waste including dry leaves, residue of pesticide, residue of chemical fertilizer, residual water used in farming etc. It is advised that to reduce the agriculture runoff, farmers must shift from chemical fertilizer to natural fertilizers like they used to do so in ancient times and avoid using pesticide unnecessarily besides arranging safe disposal of rest of the agriculture refuse like dry leaves, waste crops, seeds etc.

Solid and hospital wastes if dumped directly into water bodies are also one of the main sources of drinking water pollution. In backward societies where awareness is lesser about these menaces, such wastes are thrown into the fresh water bodies without feeling their danger to health. Therefore, these wastes must be disposed of into designated places instead of throwing them into drinking water bodies as these are most harmful for human health.

As a matter of fact whatever - other than drinking water itself - is flowed into the water body causes drinking water pollution and is quite harmful for human health. Therefore, it is advised all over the world that drinking water is the most precious element which must be protected from menace of pollution otherwise health of human beings will never remain safe. 

Water pollution

Water pollution means contamination of water either sweet or salty by various harmful elements and compounds which are not good for health or their excess deprives the water of its natural characteristics or features. For example if effluent of a chemical factory flows into the river then we say that river carries polluted water.

Water pollution is one of the worst forms of pollution because every living being either human being, animal or plants all have to consume water daily and suffer from various serious diseases due to intake of polluted water. If such an important element of life is polluted by unhygienic substances then it will impact negatively the health of who consume such water.