Lok Sabha Question No. 405 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-03
Subject: Burial of Dead Bodies on River Bank
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Kunwar Danish Ali

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. † 405

ANSWERED ON 03.02.2022

## BURIAL OF DEAD BODIES ON RIVER BANK

## †405. KUNWAR DANISH ALI:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether dead bodies were buried under sands on the banks of river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during Covid-19 period and many dead bodies were found flowing in the river;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Ganga river would not be polluted if dead bodies buried under sands come up when water level would rise and these dead bodies would flow in the rivers as 40 per cent of population of the country  drinks  water  from  river  Ganga,  11  districts  of  Uttar  Pradesh  are  adjacent  to  the  river  and  large portion of population resides along the river in these districts; and
- (d) if so, the steps being taken by the Government to keep water of river Ganga clean?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a) & (b):The incidence of 'unclaimed/ unidentified, burnt or partially burnt dead bodies, found floating in river or in grounds, in the shallow depth, on the banks in river Ganga', was reported in certain districts (Unnao, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Kannauj, Ballia, Ghazipur etc.) in State of Uttar Pradesh and districts (Buxar, Saran, Patna etc.) in the State of Bihar, in the media.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), initiated action, with the State Governments  concerned  for  ensuring  proper  handling,  management  and  disposal  of  dead  bodies  by  the State authorities also ensuring the protection of the river Ganga.

Accordingly,  advisories  were  issued  by  Director  General,  NMCG  addressed  to  Chief  Secretaries  of Uttarakhand,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Jharkhand  and  West  Bengal  and  all  District  Ganga  Committees followed by advisories from Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti to Chief Secretaries of all States  and  the  Administrators  of  all  UTs  and  ensured  with  the  assistance  of  district  administration  that Covid-19 protocol is being followed in cremation and disposal of these bodies.

This has led to coordinated action at State's level towards cremation of dead bodies as per Government of India  protocols,  providing  necessary  financial  assistance  to  deserving  families  for  cremation  of  dead, regular  patrolling  of  river  channel  and  river  banks  as  well  as  necessary  community  awareness  drives  to raise awareness among the river-side communities on do's/ don't for the use of river water to prevent the spread of infection in current scenario of Covid-19 surge.

( c): As per designated best use water quality criteria for drinking water specified by CPCB, river water can be used for drinking purpose only after appropriate treatment. NMCG along with CPCB and State PCBs got  a  study  completed  by  Council  of  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research-Indian  Institute  of  Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR) for ' Detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus contamination and analysis of water quality due to disposal of dead bodies in selected sites in river Ganga'. The water samples were collected from identified  sites  of  river  Ganga  banks  namely  Kannauj,  Unnao,  Kanpur,  Prayagraj,  Mirzapur,  Varanasi, Buxar, Hamirpur, Ghazipur, Ballia, Patna, Saran and Bhojpur. Based on the results of the study, none of the  collected  Ganga  water  Samples  was  found  positive  for  the  presence  of  SARS-CoV-2  indicating  no contamination of the river water with the virus.

(d): Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Government in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme. Under this Programme, a diverse set of  interventions for cleaning and rejuvenation of river Ganga have been taken up including waste water treatment, solid waste management,  river front management  (ghats and crematoria), maintaining continuous flow, rural sanitation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation etc.

Regulation  of  industrial  Pollution  is  implemented  through  various  provisions  of  Water  (Prevention  and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 under consent mechanism by the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).

Industries are facilitated through Charter based participatory approach for reduction in water consumption, effluent generation and pollution load by adoption of cleaner technologies & waste minimization practices. Sector specific Charters have been implemented in Pulp & Paper, Sugar, Textile and Distillery sectors.

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