Experts have taken the government to task over the preparations made for the expected 100-200 million pilgrims expected to arrive at the Maha Puran Kumbh Mela spread over 55 days.
The state government has made a provision for 20,000 tap connections which works out to one tap per 2000 people. Similarly water being provided to the Kumbh City, stretching over 20 sq km can works out to two litres per capita per day. The authorities have provided 35,000 individual toilets, 350 ten-seater public toilets, 7500 eco trench toilets and 1000 non conventional toilets all of which works out to one toilet for 870 people.
Already, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has warned that the water quality of the Ganga is bound to get adversely affected by mass bathing.
The CPCB further warned that faecal coliform levels increased 200 times the normal count following mass bathing in the Ganga following the shahi snans which took place on January 14 and 15 2007.
“The situation will be no better this time around,” warns an expert.
The CPCB has further calculated that each pilgrim contributes up to 33 grams of organic matter each day. The presence of one million pilgrims works out 33 tonnes of organic matter in a day and on the main shahi asana days, pollution levels run much higher.
The Centre for Science and Environment has warned against the large quantities of sewage that continues to flow into Ganga. While local Kumbh authorities claim they have installed soak pits and septic tanks, religious leaders question why untreated sewage cesspools remain visible in several places.
If this was not bad enough, the authorities have provided 370 beds and 100 doctors while around 12,000 policemen have been deputed which works out to 32 policemen per 100,000 which again is much lower than the national average.
From the `32 crore allocated to Allahabad under the Ganga Action Plan, only a quarter of the amount has been utilised leaving questions about the seriousness of the state authorities in dealing with the serious issue of cleaning the river.