Impact of River Water Pollution on Rice and Wheat Productivity: A Case Study in Maharajganj District, India

Background: Increased water pollution is a worldwide problem that threatens the well-being of billions of people and their economies, ecosystems and quality of life in both developed and developing nations. Poor wastewater management has exacerbated major water-quality concerns in many regions of the globe, increasing the water crisis. With these, the present study made an attempt to capture the impact of river water pollution on rice and wheat productivity in surveyed villages in Maharajganj district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods: A field survey of 200 farmers was conducted from (1-30/September/2021) using multistage sampling. Further, the productivity change method was used to calculate the impact of river water pollution on crop productivity. Result: The results from this study show that per acre rice and wheat crop productivity was 8.84 and 7.78 quintals in Rajabari village (a river pollution-affected village) respectively, while the corresponding figures in Taraini village (a non-river pollution-affected village) were 19.86 and 18.14 quintals/acre. Further, net returns for rice and wheat crops in Rajabari village were Rs. 4863 and Rs. 5730, while corresponding figures in Taraini village were Rs. 19319 and Rs. 22070 per acre, respectively. Hence, the present study recommends that the government should take appropriate water contamination measures to limit water pollution through appropriate treatment methods. To prevent contamination of water containing with heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, detergents and any pollutant that causes danger to the environment and in order to achieve normalcy within the limits of standards, attention should be focused on the prevention of water pollution with pollutants and the preservation of the quality and ecosystems of these waters through adequate and uninterrupted monitoring in time and space.