Sabarmati River shows multi-coloured pollution despite court orders
Updated: Jun 2nd, 2025
Water samples collected from multiple locations along the Sabarmati River on Monday indicate the continued discharge of pollutants into the water body, despite several reprimands from the Gujarat High Court.
Environmental activist Swapnil Soni, who took the samples, says they showed distinctly coloured water at different points: yellow under Shastri Bridge, black between Pipalaj and Kamod, green near Kasindra, and red on the Dholka Highway near Saroda Bridge. All samples have been sent for laboratory testing.
Soni’s observations come three and a half years after previous lab tests revealed water quality so poor it posed dangers to both human health and soil integrity.
About three and a half years ago, lab tests on water samples from the river revealed that the water was not only harmful to humans but also dangerous to the soil.
Nocturnal industrial discharge alleged
Narol-resident Soni — who is known locally as the “Monkey Man” — claims that hundreds of industrial units in areas including Narol and Pipalaj discharge toxic chemical water into the river during nighttime hours. He says this pollution damages soil in surrounding areas and continues downstream to the Gulf of Khambhat, harming wildlife along the riverbanks.
He alleges widespread coordination among government departments to allow polluted water discharge into the river, with claims of fixed rates for dumping chemical-filled tankers. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Revenue Department, Amdavad Municipal Corporation, and police have authority to act but remain inactive, he says, citing unnamed sources.
October 2021 Sabarmati River water report
| Element | Normal Range | Sample 1 | Sample 2 | Sample 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOD | 6–9 | 158.4 | 110.88 | 78.2 |
| COD | 5–50 | 1,270 | 1,310 | 1,036 |
| TDS | 25–250 | Excessively high | Excessively high | Excessively high |
BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (stands for Chemical Oxygen Demand) and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) are all indicators of water pollution. BOD measures the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms during the decomposition of organic matter in water. COD measures the total amount of oxygen required to chemically oxidize both organic and inorganic substances in water. TDS refers to the total amount of inorganic and organic substances, including minerals, salts, metals, and other impurities, that are dissolved in the water. These dissolved substances can affect the taste, odor, and overall quality of the water.
The report also documented abnormal values for pH, total solids, suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, chloride, sulfate, calcium, and magnesium. These samples were collected near agricultural fields between Nana Chhapra village, Bakrol Bridge, and Miroli-Navapura.
River's regional significance
The Sabarmati River originates in Rajasthan's Aravalli Hills and flows 371 km to the Arabian Sea at the Gulf of Khambhat, serving as a key identifier for Ahmedabad city. Industrial growth over the past two to three decades has coincided with increased discharge of toxic chemical waste into the waterway.
Legal action may follow completion of the current laboratory analysis of the newly collected samples, Soni also said.
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