Ganga Express Way – A path of wetland destruction

Note:Ganga Expressway Project envisages controlling the flow of the Ganga. The project claims that among other benefits it would save lakhs of hectares of cultivable land through flood control embankments on the Ganga.

UP's and Bihar's flood affected regions of Ganga basin is currently grappling with the unacknowledged environmental disaster due to a land of embankments. This region is home to South Asia's biggest ecological crisis that policy makers, NGOs and media have failed to comprehend and diagnose.

Both Mayawati and Nitish Kumar have revealed themselves as lovers of this very embankment.

It not clear whether clearance has been obtained from both the Water Resources Ministry and the Ministry of Environment. Also it is not clear whether UP government has not sought the permission from the Surface Transport Ministry, which is mandatory for building highways.

Before proceeding with projects both UP and Bihar should come out with a white paper on the contribution of embankments.

Ganga Express Way – A path of wetland destruction

Ganga Express Way is a project of the Uttar Pradesh Government. According to
this, an eight-lane road is to be constructed along the left side of the River Ganga, between Noida and Ballia. This correspondence deals with a critical analysis of the project in amalgamation with environmental concerns.

This project will consume 1,047,000 × 8 × 7 sq. m fertile agricultural land of
doaab. This Indo-Gangetic Plain is well known for its fertility and productivity.

In the light of this, in no way does it appear justifiable to sacrifice such a
huge area and that too at a time when the world is facing problems feeding the exploding population.

Each year the Ganga brings billions of tonnes of fertile soil, which is deposited along the river basin. It is this soil which is responsible for high fertility of the area. Now, if a road is constructed along one side of the river, it will act as a dam
or barrier for the free flow of water. As a result, huge amount of mud will be
deposited on the riverbed, decreasing the cross-section area of the river.
During rainy season, when excess amount of water flows through the Ganga, the
water will find its way into cities, resulting in floods. After a few years,
when the river bed would be almost filled, Ganga may be forced to change its
path and pass through cities, i.e. perennial floods would become common.

The Indo-Gangetic Plain is fertile because it receives fertile and fresh soil
each year and also the river regularly provides water for irrigation. After construction of the road, the high barrier will lead to two disadvantages. First, the off-side of the road will become waterless.

Since soil of the adjoining belt is sandy, in no way does it appear feasible to perform irrigation through other sources in such a soil.

In the years to come, this will lead to desertification. Secondly, construction
of the huge barrier would also require large amount of soil, as in normal
practice the soil would be dug from the nearby agricultural field1. This will
give rise to another problem. The low land generated in this way will collect
the rainwater on the off-side of the river, which will promote the development of sodic and saline soil.

Both the above processes will lead to progressive development of desert area. In
addition, the temporary lentic ecosystem would become a source of various
water-borne diseases, such as dengue, malaria, encephalitis, etc.

The planners have proposed to develop an ‘investment region’, along the way,
under which 500 large and 7000 medium or small industries would be commissioned
in 10,000 acres of land adjoining to the Ganga Express Way2. Not only will the agricultural land reduce, but also all the industrial effluents and garbage would be directly dumped into the Ganga.

Path of rivers are wavy. This will also increase the cost of construction,
maintenance and fuel consumption in addition to the time required for the
journey and cost of transportation.

Finally, our emphasis should focus on sustainable development, rather than on
just development. India is an agriculture based country, and we should aim to
feed the ever-increasing population.

Industries can produce bread but not grains. As an alternate suggestion, it
would be advantageous to develop the Ganga Waterways. This will not only prevent the economic loss, but the water resources available to us are properly utilized. It would require less than 20% of the budget of the proposed plan towards development of the Ganga Waterways.

The voyage would be economical, pollution-free as well as long- lasting.

Dwivedi, A. K., Shashi and Singh, J.,
Current Science