00:00Vaswad is a village situated a few kilometers away from Prayagraj.
00:04Not only do they throw out the waste, they also throw out the waste that comes out of the well.
00:09Now, this village has turned into a waste dump.
00:11A resident of the village, Vijay Kumar, says that he is suffering from all kinds of diseases from skin diseases to stomach aches.
00:18He also says that he is afraid of the next monsoon when the waste doesn't reach his house during the rains.
00:26Due to health issues, a school and a college have already been shut down.
00:30Welcome to Deep Dive with Outlook.
00:33Let's get to know about the Kumbh Mela and the environmental challenges associated with it.
00:37The Kumbh Mela of Prayagraj is held once in every 12 years.
00:40This year, more than 50 crores of devotees are expected to attend the Kumbh Mela.
00:45They will come to Ganga to take a royal bath.
00:48During the Kumbh Mela, the royal bath is considered to be the main bath in the Triveni Sangam.
00:54But, there is a huge environmental problem behind this huge event.
01:00For the past few years, there has been a lot of concern about water pollution, waste management and the environment.
01:07According to a report, 18,000 metric tons of solid waste was thrown out in the Prayagraj Earth Kumbh Mela in 2019.
01:15However, the Baswar Sewage Management Plant was inaugurated to properly dispose of the waste.
01:22But, this plant was shut down in 2018.
01:24The National Green Tribunal has accused the state government of violating the NGT's orders and violating the Solid Waste Management Rule in 2016.
01:36In a study conducted by IIT Kanpur, it has been found that Varanasi, Kanpur and Prayagraj are directly responsible for the pollution of the Ganga River.
01:46Only the water that comes out of these 3 places contributes about 50% to the pollution of the Ganga.
01:53Especially in Prayagraj, where more than 50% of the sewage water goes straight to the Ganga without any treatment.
02:01According to a report conducted by the Namami Ganga Programme in 2019,
02:06300 million litres of sewage water is thrown out of houses in Varanasi every day.
02:14In Varanasi, where 1 million people live, 35 nalas and sewage water goes straight to the Ganga.
02:21According to a study conducted by Abdul Kalam Technical University,
02:25more than 100 tons of waste was collected every day in the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in 2021.
02:32In 2019, the amount of waste collected from Prayagraj was 150 tons per day.
02:41Environmental activists are continuously raising this issue so that the environment around us can be protected.
02:47In 2018, IIT Kanpur professor and environmental activist Swami Gyan Saroop Sanand died in a hunger strike.
02:57He was demanding the government to take strict action to keep the Ganga River clean.
03:03According to a report, the Namami Ganga Programme was started in 2014 to clean the Ganga.
03:10Even after spending Rs. 40,000 crores, the Ganga water is not safe to drink or bathe.
03:19The sewage treatment plants are not working properly.
03:23There are many things in the papers, but they don't work.
03:27Taking environmental issues more seriously,
03:30NGT asked the Uttar Pradesh government and the Central Pollution Control Board
03:35to ensure that the Ganga water is clean for bathing and drinking before the Kumbh Mela in 2025.
03:44Not only that, NGT also ordered that no untreated sewage water should be put in the river during the Mela.
03:51This year, the Uttar Pradesh government has organized 10,000 cleaners, 80,000 tanks and 28,000 toilets in the Kumbh Mela.
04:00Along with that, initiatives like the solar power system and eco-friendly vehicles have also been implemented.
04:06Under the Plastic Free Kumbh, the One Bag One Thali campaign has also started.
04:11This campaign is to prevent the use of polythene so that there is less waste.
04:16But will these steps be enough to handle the waste caused by such a big campaign?
04:21Many people believe that the steps taken to reduce the environmental impact of the Kumbh Mela
04:28such as cleaners, eco-friendly vehicles and plastic-free campaigns are the right steps.
04:35But seeing the presence of lakhs of people in such a big campaign,
04:40the question that arises is whether these steps will be enough to control the environmental impact.
04:47We'll find out after the Kumbh Mela ends
04:50how much effort has been put in to control the pollution.
04:56Stay tuned for more such Deep Dive Explainer videos.
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