Evenafter lagging behind the scheduled time the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has invited bidders from across the world to award projects for cleaning up solid waste from the river. NMCG headed by PM Narendra Modi, is the implementing agency of National Ganga River Basin Authority.
The contractors will have to machinery as well as manpower to collect the solid waste from the beds of the river. The work will be divided across five states of Ganga basin Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Last year, NMCG had run river surface cleaning pilots across Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Allahabad, Mathura, Ganga Sagar, Sahibganj and Haridwar, in which trash skimmer boats were used.
Polluted Ganga river
“We want skimmers to collect 6-10 tones of waste per day. 15 companies have shown their interest in the pre-bid meeting,” said Rajat Bhargava mission director (NMCG).
As per the contract, the project will go on for three years and the contractors will have to coordinate with local municipalities and state governments to dispose off the waste collected from the river.
Apart from sewage being the biggest contributor to pollution in Ganga, it receives a vast amount of solid waste. Cremation, being an age-old practice on the banks of the river is also a big contributor towards the pollution.
However, while cleaning the beds of the river if the contractor finds a human body, he will have to inform the police and comply with the procedures.
