Godavari Mahapushkaralu: A polluting dip?

Godavari Mahapushkaralu is round the corner and the festive fervour is already in the air. The 12-day event will be a grand affair and there is a lot of anticipation surrounding the holy event. Millions of pilgrims, who wait for years to have a holy dip in the waters of the river Godavari, will throng the ghats of the river in both states. On the flip side, several environmentalists fear that this year’s fest will leave Godavari polluted.

“People will not just take a dip, they bathe using soaps and shampoos. The chemicals released from these will harm the aquatic life and make the river toxic,” says Dr T Patanjali Sastry, former member of AP Pollution Control Board and former adviser, AP Wild life, West Godavari.

Concurring on this, Farida Tampal, Director, WWF Hyderabad, says “Apart from chemicals, soap wrappers and sachets of shampoos will harm the aquatic life and it will have a cascading effect.”

The governments of both the states have made elaborate measures for smooth conduct of the event, but how far will it help in curbing the pollution is the question the environmentalists ask. It is individual involvement that is going to go a long way in protecting the river, they opine.

There are elaborate measures taken to handle the crowd and manage waste. Many volunteers have been deployed at each ghats to tackle the situation. Farida urges the governments of both the states should see that people should not throw waste in water.

“The governments have made arrangements to see that no untoward incident takes place at the venues, likewise they have to safeguard the river too, and see that it does not get polluted,” Farida shares.

The chances are plenty that many water-borne diseases will be passed to humans after bathing in the river during the event.

“When one cleanses self, a lot of dirt comes from the body. As many people will take bath simultaneously and the water will get polluted, the chances of one getting skin ailments will be high. To avoid this one should bathe before entering the river. Taking this one simple step will avoid many things,” Dr Sastry says.

Echoing the same Farida says, “Bathing before going to take a dip would be very helpful for the river. Firstly it will stop the nutrient overload in the river and as there will be no usage of soap and shampoo, thus preventing the chemicals from entering the river, and keeping the marine life safe.”

Apart from taking a dip in the river, devotees perform pooja in the river and many materials, which are used in poojas like, flowers, coconuts, camphor, etc will be disposed in Godavari. River pollution also affects aquatic life, leading to growth of unhealthy fish unsuitable for human consumption and also massive deaths of fish. Polluted water will affect the lives of animals and birds as well.

The Coringa mangrove forests in Godavari delta, the second largest mangrove formation in the country will also face problems due to pollution. “There is a possibility that people will chuck solid wastes like plastics bags, plates, etc into the river. And as river has continuous flow, it will take waste to the mangrove forest, damaging the eco-system there," Farida says.

The river ends in the sea and it will carry many effluents, which will also go into sea. "There is high possibility that all the waste materials chucked in Godavari will end up in the sea too. And it will harm the marine life there," Farida adds.

Navin Pivhal