The Ganga River is regarded as sacred by the people of India since it
provides life, nourishment to the ecosystem and ecology. Anthropogenic
activities have resulted in significant changes in aquatic habitats
during the last several decades. The advancement of human civilization
has raised severe concerns about the safety of using river water for
drinking and other purposes. River water contamination caused by heavy
metals is a serious problem in most developing-country urban areas.
Toxic heavy metals released into the environment may cause
bioaccumulation and biomagnification. These heavy metals are not easily
degradable and accumulate to dangerous levels in both animal and human
systems, causing unpleasant consequences over a certain threshold.
Conclusion and way forward
Sewage sludge is a byproduct of sewage treatment procedures that
contains organic compounds, macro and micronutrients, trace elements
including hazardous metals, bacteria, and micropollutants. The use of
sewage sludge results in more robust plants with faster development and
higher biomass production, although the shorter cultivation period may
be a matter for worry. Crops cultivated on excessively high doses of
sludge amendment into soils have dangerous quantities of heavy metals
when compared to crops grown on a lesser dose of sludge amendment, as
well as unamended ones. The eating of such plants could endanger human
health. Along with this, sludge disposal is related with heavy metal
pollution in the environment. To tackle such conditions, a variety of
treatments could be implemented. To mitigate the negative effects of the
heavy metal environment, sewage treatment plants, sewage networks, and
effective industrial policies could be established. Raw sewage sludge
management is very critical in current scenario. Overall, raw sewage
sludge is not advised for agricultural applications or even land
filling. Interventions like as heavy metal dilution via fortification
methods and pathogenic organism reduction via sterilizing procedures
could be advantageous in this case. Heavy metals below a specific
concentration are not dangerous to humans or the environment. To
minimize such annoyance, strict regulations on sewage remediation
practices should be implemented with immediate action.