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.