Bioremediation of Yamuna River Water at Agra with Special Reference to Heavy Metals and Pesticides Using EM Technology

Abstract

Yamuna river water of Agra city is heavily contaminated with toxic pollutants including heavy metals and pesticides that causes severe damage to ecological and social aspects. At present, the direct use of river water for the purpose of drinking causes severe hazards due to anthropogenic activities causing environmental pollution in rivers. Hence, this study was proposed to evaluate the status of Yamuna river water of Agra and to remediate its pollutant biologically through bacterial monocultures and consortium. The 4 bacterial isolates (Rhodopseudomonas palustris Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus fusiformis, and Rhodobacter sphaeroides) were used in the form of monocultures and consortium for the bioremediation purposes. According to the results obtained, a significant reduction were observed in the physico chemical parameters including heavy metals and pesticides. Hence, bioremediation is considered to be an attractive option for minimizing the pollution load from contaminated river water due to its high efficiency and economical impact than chemical remediation. Thus the current study clearly states that, application of bacterial consortia and monocultures can be used for the treatment of toxic effluents from Yamuna river water. newline