Impact of Lockdown during COVID-19 on water quality of River Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

     The Corona virus (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by SARS-Cov-2, which has an enormous effect on human lives and the global environment. Due to outburst situation, India took the decision of sudden nationwide complete lockdown from March 24, 2020. Meanwhile, short period restrictions of industrial sectors and economic activities offered an opportunity to restore the river health itself from the usual exploitation by urban- industrial activities. During the pre lockdown phase, intensification of various human development projects has been generated huge pollution loads and these are dumped into nature. Almost zero industrial pollution due to complete lockdown increased the quality of water in the River Ganga. This impact has been recorded in terms of high DO and low BOD, COD, NO₃ and TC concentration. Observations suggests significant improved water quality at different stations monitored including major cities of Uttar Pradesh viz. Kanpur, Allahabad and Varanasi. Thus, it was concluded that the countrywide lockdown has brought noticeable change to the overall quality of river water, and it has turned to be positive condition for nature’s restoration. In this review, the impact of lockdown during COVID-19 on water quality of River Ganga in Uttar Pradesh has been discussed.

Key Words- COVID-19, River Ganga, Lockdown, Physicochemical parameters