CONSERVATION , MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF VARUNA RIVER ECOSYSTEM

CONSERVATION , MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF VARUNA RIVER ECOSYSTEM

Dr. Anil Kumar Gupta
Department of Botany , S.B.,P.G. College ,
Baragaon , Varanasi - 221204 , U.P. , INDIA
E-Mail: gupta_chandini@rediffmail.com

Rivers play a key role in balancing the hydrological cycle and in providing water for drinking, domestic, municipal, industrial and irrigation consumption, hydroelectric generation, waterway transport and acts as sinks of domestic, municipal and industrial wastes. River Varuna is tributary of river Ganga in the eastern part of U.P., India. Lot of untreated domestic waste is being discharged into the river Varuna at many discharge points. As the river water is used for drinking, domestic, municipal, industrial and irrigation purposes, so the domestic waste degrades the water quality and as it is also used for drinking purposes, so due to its contamination, it transmits water-borne diseases and thus directly affect human health. So far as the water quality is concerned, the temperature, nitrate, phosphate, potassium, calcium and heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Ni, Cr, Fe, Zn, Co, Mn and Pb) content show marked increase, due to mixing of domestic wastes into the river water, whereas the transparency and dissolved oxygen decrease with the addition of domestic wastes. Due to this, water gets highly polluted, contaminated and becomes unfit for drinking purposes. Lot of people of the adjoining villages depend only on river Varuna for variety of purposes and use river water for drinking also, so they use to suffer from water-borne diseases like dysentery, typhoid, jaundice, cholera, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, poliomyelitis, giardiasis, yellow fever, and many other diseases caused by heavy metals present in river water. To restore the river water quality, the untreated domestic wastes should not be allowed to discharge into the river. Regular river water monitoring should be done. Some disinfectants and detoxicants should be mixed at regular time interval. Natural harvester plants, which can absorb pollutants and toxicants, if grown can also help in purification of river water up to some extent.