River Ganga might be pouring 3 billion microplastic particles into Bay of Bengal: Research

The Ganges River, one of the biggest rivers in the world, also known as ‘Ma Ganga’ with the combined flows of Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers could be responsible for up to 3 billion microplastic particles entering the Bay of Bengal each day, said a new team of international researchers and scientists. Hoping that the alarming outcomes of the new study will provide the first step in understanding ocean pollution, the international set of researchers analysed at least two sets of 60 samples of river water collected before and after the monsoon. 

Ganga provides water to reportedly half-a-billion people, more than any other river on Earth, and on average every year, two million tons of fish from the Bay of Bengal is caught with nearly 31 per cent of the world’s coastal fisherman working on the region. However, the two samples collected by the researchers were analysed at the University of Plymouth laboratories to find microplastics in 43 (71.6 per cent) of the samples taken pre-monsoon, and 37 (61.6 per cent) post-monsoon.

Further, it was also revealed that over 90 per cent of the microplastics found were fibres including 54 per cent rayon, 24 per cent acrylic, both of which used in clothing. Then, combining the predicted microplastic concentration at the mouth of the river with the discharge of the river, the experts then estimated that between one to three billion microplastics could b released from the Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna River Basin every day. 

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Stop 'crime of pollution', NGT tells UP govt

The findings of the study came just weeks after the National Green Tribunal told the  Uttar Pradesh government to stop “crime of pollution” over the discharge of untreated sewage in rivers joining the Ganga. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the situation is extremely “unsatisfactory” and reportedly called on the state government to take the required actions to rectify the contamination of Ramgarh lake as also the Ami, Rapti and Rohani rivers in and around Gorakhpur. 

"It is high time that periodically the Chief Secretary personally reviews the matter to ensure compliance of directions of the Supreme Court requiring preventing discharge of untreated sewage and trade effluents, solid waste management and rejuvenation of Ganga," the tribunal said according to PTI. 

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