SURFACE WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT DURING IDOL IMMERSION

Rivers in India are regarded as sacred from ancient times. The river Narmada is the third holy and fifth largest west flowing river of India and biggest west flowing river of the Madhya Pradesh. The quality of water is most important as compared to quantit y of water, especially for potable purpose purity is of the prime requirement. With this view - point, to check the surface water quality during idol immersion the study has been carried out at six major historical places through which River Narmada is flowi ng, during Ganesh idol immersion and Durga idol immersion. The samples were collected 15 days before the festivals, during and 15 days after the festivals. The analytical results reveal that few parameters need treatment before use for drinking purpose. Whereas all the remaining water parameters have been found to be safe from potability consideration.