2024, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Part A

The current study sought to assess the water quality of the Narmada River in the heavily populated area of Dindori, Madhya Pradesh. Over a period of six months, from January 2023 to June 2023, samples were collected for analysis. These samples underwent testing for various physicochemical parameters, following the established protocol set by APHA (1998) ^[1]. These parameters encompassed pH, temperature, hardness, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, electrical conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, carbonate, bicarbonate, and others. The observed values for these parameters were significantly higher than the standard values recommended by different agencies, such as BIS (1991) ^[2] and WHO (1997) ^[3], indicating the polluted state of the water. Additionally, a study on zooplankton was conducted using a separate set of samples from the same location, which revealed a low diversity and density of zooplankton, further suggesting the high pollution levels in the river water.