UJJAIN: The millions of devotees and pilgrims who come to take part in the Maha Kumbh at the upcoming Ujjain Simhasth-2016 would be able to see the quality of water of the Kshipra River, in which they would take a dip, on special display boards.

The MPPCB would put in place state of the art online water quality monitoring system at Kshipra River during the upcoming religious conclave to be held in 2016 just as was done for the Allahabad Maha Kumbh-2013.MPPCB chairman NP Shukla talking to DNA said, “The board had sent a team of experts to Allahabad Kumbh for studying the amenities during Allahabad Maha Kumbh. The same arrangements would be ensured at Kshipra during Ujjain Mahakumbh.”

The state board delegation had visited Maha Kumbh and has devised plan to implement the same at Ujjain. MPPCB spokesperson Abhay Saxena, who was part of the delegation, told DNA that routine sampling takes at least three days for generating results but online water quality monitoring offers regular updates after gap of minutes. 

At Sangam in Allahabad, instruments were fitted on bridge and equipments for measuring water quality were dipped in the water, he added.

In such a monitoring system, several details of crucial parameters like Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Dissolved Oxygen is made available directly to the state board and CPCB through GPS and the same is also displayed for public.

"In case of Kshipra, the river does not have own natural flow and water is sources from other rivers, the supply could be regulated by monitoring the quality of water constantly," said Saxena, adding that similar facilities would be established at Ujjain regional office. The MPPCB has devised a proposal in this regard and the same would be sent to the state government for approval shortly. Kumbh Mela is considered to be largest peaceful gathering in the world with over 100 million people visited during the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013.