Holy dip in River Cauvery may invite scores of infections: Report

Lab reports found that the Cauvery river water is highly contaminated with pathogenic indicators Water samples were collected not just from Cauvery but also from river Yamuna in North But people believe that taking dip in Cauvery washes away one's sins

Next time think (not just twice) before you take a holy dip in river Cauvery as you would be inviting diseases. Samples of river Cauvery - collected from various places - were tested for their purity and found them to be absolutely unsafe for people's health, reports Deccan Herald.

Quoting a report prepared by the Indian Institute of Science and Dayananda Sagar Institutions which is submitted to the Central government, it reported that water samples from the country's major rivers collected from Yamuna in North to Cauvery in South were proved to be unsafe for people.

It is reported that the Cauvery river water is heavily contaminated with pathogenic indicators, especially of E coli bacteria an anti-bioltic resistant bacteria. This poses serious health risks for the people as take holy dip in Cauvery river.

In 2015, the study found that Cauvery water was found to be resistant to cephalosporins and Cefotaxime. Besides, the Cauvery water was also found to have resistant bugs and antibiotic resistant genes besides a spectrum of cephalosporins.

In fact the reason for the spread of microbial activity in the cauvery river is attributed to mass bathing, misuse of antibiotics, poorly regulated poultry and livestock, rampant discharge of industrial effluents and also poor infection control. It is not just the river, but the report highlights the threat of even the groundwater being contaminated.

The water samples were collected from Talacauvery, Napoklu bridge, Kaveri Nisargadhama, Balmurikshetra, Ranganathittu, Srirangapatna, Nanjangud, T Narasipura (Kapila), T Narasipura (Cauvery) and Talakad.

The river Cauvery is considered holy down South and Triveni Sangama in Srirangapatna is a popular pilgrimage centre. It's a popular belief that taking a holy dip here will wash away one's sins. However, over the years, the quality of the water has reduced and now the water is classified as very poor.