Page 84 - Sugam Sarita

resources and aid its citizens to regain control over their quality of

life.

Water bodies like rivers are often treated as dumpsters by industries.
However, wastewater disposal into the river adversely affects the health
of human and aquatic life. Wastewater disposal from the domestic as

well as industrial sectors is a global challenge nowadays. Though every
water body can naturally remove pollutants from the wastewater
with the help of naturally occurring aquatic animals and plants, but
it has its limits. Chemical, physical, and biological reactions can be

used to further purify and degrade pollutants. However, unlimited
waste carelessly disposed of in rivers as a cheap and easy way cannot
be naturally neutralized. Industrial growth and development as well
as man-made interferences like deforestation, global warming as well

as the population boom, are creating fluctuations in the water cycle
and the environmental balance. In Indian states, clean and hygienic
water for drinking and cooking is very scarce, especially in Rajasthan
and Maharashtra. Moreover, all over India, this hygienic potable

water is available to only a small portion of the population. The
remaining masses are using polluted or even chlorinated water for
drinking causing several chronic health issues.

Major sources and effects of water pollution

There are various sources of water pollution. Based on the sources,
water pollution is classified into point and non-point sources. Point
sources/known sources are sources where the point of production
is known. For example, industrial and domestic sewage plants are

known sources which discharge waste directly into the water bodies.
While nonpoint sources refer to those sources which indirectly
discharge their pollutant into the water bodies such as agricultural

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