Paper 5Field Work and Ethnography

Introduction

Group-DGroup Name- The ScintillasTopic- Pollution in Ghats and in River Ganga.Group Members-Kashika,Preeti,Rashi,Ranjit and Shubham.Ghats Assigned-Digpatya Ghat,Chousatti Ghat,Rana Mahal Ghat,Munshi Ghat,Ahilya Bai Ghat,Dashaswamedh Ghat and Rajendra Prasad Ghat.

Reasons & Statistics of pollution in river Ganges

1. Human waste-About 2.9 billion liters or more of human sewage is discharged in to river Ganga daily although the existing treatment plants have capacity to treat 1.1 billion leaving a huge deficit .

2. Industrial waste-Industrial effluents are about 12% of total effluents reaching Ganga. Although its in low proportion, but it is main reason for concern because they are often toxic.

3. Religious Events- During festive season70 million people take bath to clean their sins and throw waste like flowers, food and ashes due to ritualistic reasons.

4. Dams-Built in 1854 during British rule. Govt . of India has planned 300 more dams despite of environmental concerns .

5. A 2006 measurement of pollution in the Ganges sabrina revealed that river water monitoring over the previous 12 years had demonstrated fecal coliform counts up to 100,000,000 MPN (most probable number) per 100 ml and biological oxygen demand levels averaging over 40 mg/l in the most polluted part of the river in Varanasi. The overall rate of water-borne/enteric disease incidence, including acute gastrointestinal disease, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis-A, and typhoid, was estimated to be about 66%.

6. According to Uttaranchal Environment Protection And Pollution Control Board the coliform bacterial level in Ganga is 5500, a level to high to be safe for agriculture use Let alone drinking and bathing.

7. According to National Cancer Registry Program under the Indian Council Of Medical Research 2012, Those living on the banks in UP, Bihar and Bengal are cancer prone. The Gallbladder cancer cases along the river is the 2nd highest in the world.

Examples of Questionnaire asked from 60 people to get an idea about reasons of pollution on the Ghats and river Ganga

Name= Bandil & CameyTourist from Canada.Age=25 & 19 yearsQues1. What do you think is the main reason for pollution in river ganga among the following:Sewage Flowers and Cremation stuffsWashing of clothesIndustrial pollutants BathingQues2. Do you think due to blockage by dams pollutants remain in river Ganga ?Ans. YesQues3. Do you think the buildings which are built on ghats by breaking the old architecture are the reason for pollution?Ans. May beQues4. The eatables which are taken by the tourist during boating are thrown by the people in river Ganga and do you think the boats should have a dustbin ?Ans. Yes, There should be a dustbinQues5. Do you think the plans made by government for safeguarding Ganga are being implemented or it’s a case of corruption in this too?Ans. No idea Quite difficult for me to tell.Ques6. Do you think the increasing tourism is bringing some positive changes?Ans. NoQues7. Are the tourist (foreigner) are also responsible for polluting river Ganga?Ans. May be , we have seen some people doing so.Ques8. Do you think the things which we do for our religious purpose creates pollution?Ans. YesQues9. Do you think the treatment plants on ghats are working properly?Ans. No idea.Ques10. Do you think the water of river ganga is fit for drinking does it result in any disease ?Ans. No. water is not safe for drinkingQues11. How could we improve the situation of our holy river Ganga ?Ans. According to me by educating people .

Now lets have a look at a Questionnaire asked by medium of a video

Inference made from above questionnaire asked from 60 people by medium of pie chart

1. Main cause of pollution according to peopleA. Sewage = 35 out of 60 people think so35/60*100= 58.33%B. Flowers and cremation stuffs= 5 out of 60 people think so5/60*100=8.33%C. Washing of clothes=6 out of 60 people think so6/60*100=10%D. Industrial Pollutants= 10out of 60 people think so10/60*100=16.66%E. Bathing= 4 out of 60 people think so4/60*100= 6.67%

58%

8%

10%

17% 7%

Main causes of pollution according to people

SewageFlowers and Cremation stuffsWashing clothesIndustrial pollutantsBathing

2. Is blockage by dam a reason for pollutionA. Yes = 60 out of 60 people think so.60/60*100= 100%B. No= 0 out of 60 people think so.C. Maybe=0 out of 60 people think so.

100%

Is blockage by dam a reason for pollution?

YesNoMaybe

3.Making of new buildings by breaking old architecture is a reason for pollution?A. Yes =40 out of 60 people think so.40/60*100=66.67%B. No =10 out of 60 people think so10/60*100=16.67%C. Maybe=10 out of 60 people think so.10/60*100=16.66%

67%

17%

17%

Is new building made by breaking old achitecture a reason?

YesNoMaybe

4. The eatables taken during boating are thrown in river Ganga ?A. Yes= 50 out of 60 people think so.50/60*100= 83.33%B. No = 10 out of 60 people think so.10/60*100=16.67%C. Maybe=0 out of 60 think so.

83%

17%

The eatables taken by people during boating are thrown in river Ganga?

YesNoMaybe

5.Are government plans for cleaning Ganga are working ?A. Yes=10 out of 60 people think so.10/60*100=16.67%B. No=36 out 6of 60 people think so36/60*100=60%C. May be=4 out of 60 people think so.4/60*100=6.66%D. No idea=10 out of 60 people think so10/60*100=16.67%

17%

60%

7%17%

Are government plans for cleaning Ganga working?

YesNoMaybeNo idea

6. Is increasing tourism ( foreigner) bringing some positive changes in reference to Ganga and Ghats ?A. Yes =40 out of 60 people think so.40/60*100=66.67%B. No= 20 out of 60 people think so.20/60*100=33.33%

67%

33%

Is increasing tourism (foreiger) bringing some positive changes in reference to Ganga and Ghats?

YesNo

7. Are religious important things in our culture creating pollution ?A. Yes= 25 out of 60 people think so.25/60*100=41.66%B. No=30 out of 60 people think so30/60*100=50%C. Maybe=5 out of 60 people think so.5/60*100=8.34%

42%

50%

8%

Are religious important things in our culture creating pol-lution?

YesNoMaybe

8. Are the treatment plants working on ghats ?A. Yes=37 out of 60 people think so.37/60*100=61.67%B. No=18 out of 60 people think so.18/60*100=30.67%C. No idea=5 out of 60 people think so 5/60*100=7.66%

62%

31%

8%

Are the treatment plants on ghats working ?

YesNoMaybe

9. Is the water of river Ganga good for drinking?A. Yes = 9 out of 60 people think so.9/60*100=15%B. No=51 out of 60 people think so.51/60*100=85%

15%

85%

Is water of river ganga fit for drinking?

YesNo

Some positive and negative points related to pollution on Ghats and in Ganga shown by the medium of some Pictures

1. Positive PointsA. At the ghats people get peace of mind and they perform their art and skill efficiently as the two guys below doing so.

B. There are various Ngo’s for safeguarding river Ganga which are trying save our holy river Ganga from being more polluted.

C. There are some quotes painted on the wall of ghats to make people aware and stop them from doing wrong deeds.

D. There are various treatment plants built on ghats to stop the sewage water to flow directly into river Ganga and save it from being polluted. The treatment plant at Rajendra Prasad Ghat has 4 pumps 2 of them are of 125 Hp and other 2 are of 75 Hp ,of which 125 Hp pump carries 15000 liter per minute and 75Hp pump carries 8800 liter per minute.

E. There are some urinals, dustbins and sauchalaya built on and outside the ghats to stop people from making the ghats dirty and stop them from polluting.

F. There are various cleaners and workers being assigned duties or they work on their own for cleaning and maintaining cleanliness of the ghats.

2.Negative PointsA. The water of river Ganga is not safe for drinking purpose it causes disease like cancer, stone etc moreover its not even safe for bathing.

B. Most of the old architecture are being demolished in order to build new hotels etc which results in pollution , waste are thrown in river Ganga and its also hurting the sentiments of people.

C. People just throw the waste and let the sewer water flow in river Ganga without knowing the future consequences of it.

D. There are various dustbins kept on ghats to keep it clean but it couldn’t be seen as it is hidden behind so many objects as shown in the picture.

E. Most of us throw waste on the ghats and throw flowers and other stuff in Ganga as a part of our rituals that also creates pollution

F. Most of us take bath in river Ganga and use soap and people wash clothes by detergent which creates soap deposits which look like sand on the other side as shown in the picture which results in deposition of waste in it.

G. All our religious priest and sadhu pretend to be devoted towards religion but they spread their clothes for drying onthe religiously important thing written on the ghats.

Some positive and negative incidents or views of people on Ganga ghats effecting their life –1. PositivesA. According to Basant kumar ( phool wala) its life saving due to religious belief, he narrated a story on how he survived an electric shock of 25 minutes on the ghat due to the grace of river Ganga on him.B. It’s a source of livelihood or employment for people such as shops on ghats ,boating ,tourist guide.C. According to some foreign tourist it’s a way of getting idea about Indian culture. D.According to some people it’s a source of bathing, washing clothes moreover a source of sanitation. E. According to some people Ganga ji is way to attract people towards our religion.

2.Negative A. According to a shopkeeper being such an important place its results in terrorist attacks due to lack of security. He himself was the victim of the bomb blast on the ghats.B. According to some boatman it resulted in unemployment because of drying up of river Ganga and pollution in it the fishes are dying.C. The water of river Ganga has resulted in many disease to us, I am suffering from cancer because of drinking its water.D. According to a local person the water is not fit for bathing as he got rashes on the body and pimple too.E. According some foreign tourist the negativity which they find on ghats is beggars disturbing them, people cheating them and misbehavior done by young guys.

Conclusion1. We would like to conclude from the observations made by the help of questionnaire as we get some important points which we need to implement in order to clean river ganga and ghats are as follows:-2. We found that 58.33% people think that sewage is the main reason for pollution so we should stop sewage to flow directly into river or make a passage below the river take it to another place or if we are not able to do so we could treat the sewage before flowing in the river.

3. The boatman should keep a dustbin in the boat so that that the tourist doing boating should throw the waste materials of food which they take in the dustbin rather than throwing in the river.4. The silt which gets deposited in the base of river ganga which obstruct the flow of water should be cleaned.5. We should keep more and more dustbins on ghats and employ more and more cleaners so that we could keep the ghats clean.6. We found that most of the plans made by government for cleaning ganga and ghats are not being implemented properly and it’s a complete case of corruption whole money is eaten up by the parties involve. 7. We should promote more and more tourism as it is bringing some positive changes in the condition of ghats and its making the tourist aware about our religion and culture.

8. The water of river ganga is not fit for drinking due to the sewage and industrial waste directly flowing in the river without treatment which is causing the death of various fishes and causing disease like cancer, stone etc to people who are drinking the water. So we should stop flowing of these waste in water and build more and more treatment plants for treating the waste.9. At last there are many Ngo’s working for cleaning river ganga and many people like Veer Bhadra Mishra former civil engineering head of IIT BHU working to save river Ganga, But it is not possible by one person or some Ngo’s to make our holy river Ganga free from pollution its possible only when we all people who understand our responsibilities to take care and make river Ganga clean as it was 30 to 40 years ago .

Thank YouProf. Priyankar Upadhyay

&Dr.Manoj Mishra

For providing this opportunity to learn and interact.