RAJKOT: The stretch of the Bhadar river between Jetpur and Saran village is the third most polluted in the country. This stretch has a Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 426 milligram per litre (mg/lt), which indicates that the river is dead. The most polluted river stretch in India is part of Tamil Nadu’s Vasista, where the BOD has been recorded at 675 mg/lt.
extile dyeing units that dump their effluents into the Bhadar should now face action. This river has its source in the Bhadar-2 dam and is mostly used for
irrigation. Bhadar-1
reservoir water is reserved for Rajkot city for drinking-water supply contingencies.
In a knee-jerk reaction, the
Gujarat government had recently directed dyeing and printing units in Jetpur to shut their common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for a month from the first week of September because the business association had failed to comply with earlier GPCB notices.
The CETP has the capacity to treat 1.30 crore litres of effluents daily but GPCB officials found that the association was releasing 2.50 crore litres per day without treating it. The GPCB has also issued notices to shut the CETP for Dhareshwar GIDC estate which has close to 26 printing units.
Bhadar River, Jetpur
