Impairment in water quality of Ganges River and consequential health risks on account of mass ritualistic bathing

Effect of mass ritualistic bathing was studied on the water quality of Ganges River during Maha Kumbh festival in India. Significantly higher values of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (14 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (67 mg/L), total suspended solids (55 mg/L), and ammonia nitrogen (2.15 mg/L) were observed during mass ritualistic bathing. The BOD values were observed to surpass the standard BOD criteria (<= 3 mg/L) of outdoor bathing. Similarly, higher number of total coliforms (792 most probable numbers [MPN]/100 mL) and fecal coliforms (482 MPN/100 mL) were observed in water samples, which show the alarming level of fecal contamination according to Indian and European (100 MPN/100 mL) standards of outdoor bathing. Furthermore, total 5,368 cases of water borne infections were observed during the epidemiological survey. In order to protect the public health and water quality of river, it is recommended to strictly regulate the bathing practices with continuous disinfection at upstream of bathing spot. Moreover, a comprehensive health-based investigation should be performed to facilitate the development of a suitable model.