Uttar Pradesh (UP) authorities will start making efforts to reviveaquifersto dilute contamination in 15 groundwater-based rivers that originate in the state.
The flow area of these rivers ranges from 18 km to 598 km. However, due to depleting water tables, they have often been reduced to drains by industries and cities that want to get rid of toxic effluents. These rivers do not include Yamuna and Ganga, as they enter the state fromUttarakhand.
Toxic water from these bodies has been linked to causing dreaded diseases such as cancer and bone deformities in residents of surrounding villages. For instance, hundreds of villages situated on the banks of the Krishni river, which originates in Saharanpur, have complained about the issue. Some residents said the groundwater was “unusable” due to its toxicity.