The Ganga around Kolkata: How safe is the river on bio-physical criteria?

Abstract

AbstractThe Ganga River basin is home to a diverse range of benthic flora and fauna. The Ganga River's health is deteriorating due to anthropogenic activities such as untreated garbage disposal, detergent and chemical contaminations, animal bathing, idol immersion, etc. The current study looks at the variations of zooplankton community assemblage in the Ganga River with diverse physical qualities from twelve locations along the river's southernmost stretch. Both banks of the river basin in the Indian state of West Bengal were considered for the study locations. All physical characteristics, such as water PH, conductivity, TDS, and salinity, except for the temperature, differ significantly between the study locations. There was an inverse relationship between physical factors and zooplankton abundance along the river. Cyclops and Daphnia were the most prevalent organisms identified in our study. The presence of industrial belts, large sewage systems, and human activities in the study sites was responsible for the fluctuating zooplankton diversity indices.