It is thought that the Kumbh Mela was conceived to serve as a means to congregate Hindus for philosophical discussions and debates. However, in recent times, the festival has been the cause of many debates due to the detrimental impact it has on the environment, especially on the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

A study conducted by the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board revealed that the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), a measure of the level of organic pollution in the water, had increased to 7.4mg/l at the Sangam on 14 January 2013 — the most auspicious day of the festival. Experts say that BOD should not exceed 3 mg/l. Even in December 2018, a few days before the Ardh Kumbh started, the figures indicated a very unhealthy state of affairs. Against the limit of 3 mg/l, the BOD was 9.2 mg/l and 9.3 mg/l upstream and downstream respectively. Even though some of the measures taken by the UP government to bring down the levels of BOD and make the river fit for the bathing ritual seemed to have worked in the short-term, the true state of the river’s health remains unknown. It can only be determined by studying the survival of aquatic biodiversity in the river.

It is a common belief among the Hindus that water from the Ganga can clean and purify itself. However, the reality is that the Ganga is neither fit for drinking, nor bathing, in most of its stretches. Long-term pollution caused by the industrial and urban population located on the river banks have rendered the river susceptible to dangerous levels of waste even on a typical day. According to the census, the population of the cities in the Ganga basin cities increased from 75 million in 1991 to 165 million in 2011. This exponential rise has led to a corresponding increase in sewage, but not in sewage treatment. This has resulted in the widening of the gap between sewage generation and the capacity to treat it.

Six rivers in western Uttar Pradesh fall among the most polluted in India. A study conducted by the World Water Monitoring Day Organisation (WWMDO) has termed the condition in Hindon, Krishni, Kali East, Kali West, Dhamola, and Yamuna as “deadly alarming”. This gives rise to a very pertinent question—Is it okay to sideline religious sentiments for the safekeeping of the environment? The last Kumbh Mela had a turnout of a hundred million devotees for the 55-day festival. The magnitude of reverence that the Kumbh Mela enjoys implies that it is an impossible task to scrap the festival altogether. However, the current state of affairs demands a strict action plan to be applied for the conservation of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.