CONSERVATION PLAN OF A RIVER STRETCH

Abstract

Roorkee town is situated in the state of Uttarakhand in India at 29.87° N latitude and 77.88° E longitude. It has an average elevation of 268 meters. It is situated on National Highway- 58 (Delhi-Haridwar) and N.H. 73 (Haridwar-Panchkula), and is on Amristar-Howrah main rail route. Roorkee is 175 km north of the Indian capital New Delhi and about 70 km from Dehradun, the provisional capital of Uttarakhand. It is located between the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, close to the foot hills of Himalayas. Roorkee town is situated on the right bank of river Solani, which is a tributary of the river Ganga which flows 25 km away from the city, through Haridwar. Another major water body in Roorkee is the Upper Ganga Canal which passes through the centre of Roorkee town crossing the river through the Solani aquaduct. Water from Solani River is used for irrigation purpose and there are no domestic/industrial water extraction points on the downstream of Roorkee. River Solani, besides providing water for irrigation in the agricultural fields nearby, is presently acting as a natural drain for carrying domestic sewage generated in the Roorkee town. Considering importance of Solani River, it has been selected for the conservation plan. To assess water quality, water samples were collected and tested for various water quality parameters. It was found that the environmental health of the river is in a terrible condition with a very high Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and almost nil Dissolved Oxygen (DO) at the point where the sewage drain joins the river, but these parameters improve gradually downstream. Observed parameters ware analyzed under National Sanitation Foundation water quality index (NSFWQI), which showed that the water quality in the river stretch is under `bad' category with an index value < 50. The river is almost free from anthropogenic disturbances upstream of Roorkee which is reflected from its very high DO and low BOD. However, during monsoon high river discharge remarkably improves the water quality. The conservation plan for river Solani is aimed at eliminating or at least alleviating the impact of anthropogenic disturbances. Presently, water quality of the river, rather than satisfying class C status, is not even satisfying class E of the designated best use based classification of water. Therefore, strong efforts need to be made to make the water quality satisfy the designated best use. Various measures were proposed towards improving the water quality of the river, like setting up Sewage Treatment Plant, addressing loopholes in solid waste management system-particularly, transportation of collected waste to the designated disposal site, awareness generation among farmers about wise use of chemical fertilizers in fields, preventing cultivation along the river bank on government land and putting a green buffer zone along the bank. River Front will be developed, plantation along the river stretch to check erosion and improve aesthetics is also considered. Public awareness and Participation programmes have been proposed to be undertaken to ensure that the project is sustainable. iv