Bhopal: An independent research has found that the water bodies in the city have been polluted to over 200 times at different locations.
Environmentalist Subhash C Pandey who has used US machines to conduct a research work on the water, said that the water bodies have been contaminated due to flow of sewage and other waste over the years. Pandey said that the cancer causing heavy metals have been traced in the water at Prempura Ghat when he examined water samples through spectrophotometer.
He said metal particles were traced. There are as many as 14 sewage-carrying nullahs that fall into water bodies including Upper Lake in the city. The Upper Lake has been given title of Ramsaar site after a convention in Iran and is of utmost importance for the city residents.
The research was conducted at as many as three spots at the bank of Upper Lake where not only the water body but also the boring water near it was examined. The sites where the water sample was tested include Rajendra Nagar near Bairagarh, Prempura Ghat and Kohefiza area.
In Rajendra Nagar, the pollution level was found to be 230 times while the water in the area from where water through boring is sucked up was found 190 times polluted. Similarly, the water in Kohefiza area was found to be 212 times polluted than prescribed limit while the boring water too was found to be having bacterial pollutants about 70 times more than the prescribed limit.
The water in Prempura Ghat was also found to be containing bacterial pollutants over 140 times than prescribed limit while the bacterial pollutants were above 70 times in the water used by residents through boring. At Prempura Ghat, the content of heavy metals too was found to be about two to three times high.
Bhopal Municipal Corporation deputy commissioner Harish Gupta, when contacted, said that the sewage treatment plants (STP) are functional and if found necessary new STPs will be set up.
