Something fishy about plastic pollution in Ganga

RESEARCHERS at Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University have found a new way to detect pollution levels in the Ganga river in Uttarakhand. They claim that microplastics, thermocol and clothing fibers have been found in the stomachs of fish population, which shows that the Ganga is getting polluted unhindered, besides consuming such fish can have a very adverse effect on human health.

- NARENDRA SETHI

The Department of Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity of the University has conducted a study on the fishes of the Ganges river – from Devprayag to Haridwar. Dr Jaspal Singh Chauhan, head of the Department of Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity, and Neha Badola, a research scholar, divided the entire region into two zones (Devprayag to Rishikesh and Rishikesh to Haridwar).

“The total length of Ganga is about 2525 km, our study focuses on a specific stretch of river extending 120 km from Devprayag to Haridwar in Uttarakhand”, said Dr Chauhan.

Speaking to this correspondent, Dr Chauhan said, “After a comparative study of the two zones in the research, it has become clear that this problem has been found more in the fish of Haridwar and Rishikesh.”