Varanasi: The Varanasi district administration has formed a committee to probe into the algal spread in Ganga, which has turned green due to the invasion. Varanasi district magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma had constituted a committee comprising five administrative, police and pollution control board officers.
On Tuesday, the committee made a trip from Varanasi to Mirzapur, collecting samples of the green algae infested water. The committee has been asked by the Varanasi district magistrate to submit its report by June 10.
The algae infestation has reached upstream in Mirzapur and Prayagraj districts. 46-year-old Dinesh Shankar Dubey, whose organisation Gangotri Seva Samiti holds the world famous Ganga Arti on Dashwashamedh Ghat said that he does not remember seeing such algae formation and he has been bathing in the river since childhood.
According to Prof Ashok Kumar, senior phycologist and emeritus professor at the School of Biotechnology, BHU commented that the development assumes significance as such algae never bloom in running water. Not only does the origin of the algae need to be studied, but the samples also need to be tested for possible toxicity.
