Assessment of bacterial indicators and physicochemical parameters to investigate pollution status of Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand (India)

River Ganga is the largest river of Indian subcontinent and it originates in the state of Uttarakhand. Because of its importance in Indian culture and dense population residing at banks, it faces several forced and unforced human activities. In the present study, Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand (India) was studied in detail for quality of water. Samples were collected from 32 different sites and physicochemical and microbiological analysis was performed during summer, rainy and winter seasons. These samples were subjected to bacteriological analysis, i.e. total viable count, total coliform count and faecal streptococcal count. The physicochemical analysis of the water samples includes pH, temperature, specific conductance, total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The bacterial genera were identified on the basis of their morphological and physiological characteristics. The present study confirmed the presence of bacterial indicators of faecal origin at various altitudes in every stretch of Gangetic river system. The results of bacteriological analysis of water revealed that the situation is alarming. The lower regions of Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand facing severe anthropological activities, mostly due to religious belief were heavily polluted. A huge bacterial gene pool was obtained after this study which was indicative of immense bacterial diversity in the region.