The pollution level in Ganga river is a matter of concern for all and the issue cannot be resolved without the co-operation of the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav, said on Wednesday.
“Not much can be achieved in cleaning Ganga without the co-operation of the Centre and there also exists a committee headed by the Prime Minister with Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttarakhand as its members”, he said.
“It can be only through co-operation, contribution and participation of all that Ganga can be cleaned,” Yadav said, adding that the pollution level of the river was a matter of concern for all.
It is a fact that the bacteria level in the Ganga is high at some points but industry cannot be closed down just like that,” Yadav said in response to questions on a recent survey stating that people living along its banks were exposed to a high risk of deadly diseases.
Conducted by the National Cancer Registry Programme under the Indian Council of Medical Research, the study states that the river is thick with heavy metals and lethal chemicals that cause cancer.
The river is so full of pollutants that those living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country, the study said.