© STM Journals 2022. All Rights Reserved 21 ISSN: 2230-7982 (Online) ISSN: 2321-5186 (Print) Volume 13, Issue 2, 2022 DOI (Journal): 10.37591/JoAEST STM JOURNALS Journal of Alternate Energy Sources & Technologies http://engineeringjournals.stmjournals.in/index.php/JoAEST/index Review JoAEST The Riverine Pollution-a Critical Review to Study the Water Quality and Pollution Load of Some Major Rivers of India Misha Roy 1, *, Farzana Shamim 2 , Rahul Majumder 3 , Chaitali Ghosh 4 Abstract Every life form on earth need water, which is one of the basic resources. India is a country of Rivers and some of the Rivers are considered sacred and are associated with religious importance. However, the rapid increase in population, urbanization, and increased anthropogenic invasions has resulted in the deterioration of the water quality. Rivers are always seen as the easiest sinks to dispose of all kinds of wastes; hence the majority of treated and untreated industrial, domestic and anthropogenic wastes are disposed into these Rivers. The Rivers passing through the major urban cities, semi-urban towns, and villages consume all kinds of urban wastes, agricultural runoffs, religious offerings, and other various kinds of anthropogenic invasions. This exploitation of Rivers is evident in almost every River and its tributaries. The river water has become unfit for any human consumption and domestic usage, thus posing a possible threat of diseases outbreak due to the direct exposure of people and other life forms to hazardous substances and heavy metals through contaminated river water, there is a danger of developing several fatal diseases. The objective of this study is to evaluate the pollution load and causes of water contamination in major Indian rivers and their potential risk to human health. Keywords: Water pollution, rivers, pollution, physiochemical parameters, urbanization INTRODUCTION Water is an essential resource for every form of life form present on the earth. All living organisms need water for their survival; however, the freshwater sources are very merge (rivers, lakes, ponds, and groundwater) [1, 2]. India is a country of rivers; there are a large number of rivers and their tributaries are scattered all over the country. The rivers are always preferred for disposal and dumping of waste due to their waste decomposition capacity. Hence all kinds of anthropogenic wastes are dumped into these rivers. In addition to this, the river is a preferred mode of transportation and hence adds to the wastes from the transport sectors. The various religious activities such as mass bathing and idol immersions also additionally add to its pollution sources. Every natural body has a self-restoration capacity, when this capacity exceeds the pollution rises. In the present Anthropocene, the rivers are completely deteriorated by the increasing anthropogenic influences which are above the *Author for Correspondence Misha Roy E-mail: Misharoy.india@gmail.com 1 Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), Vidyasagar University, Midnapur, West Bengal, India 2 Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Environmental Studies, Vidyasagar University, Midnapur, West Bengal, India 3,4 M.Phil Research Scholar, Department of Environmental Studies, Vidyasagar University, Midnapur, West Bengal, India Received Date: June 25, 2022 Accepted Date: July 18, 2022 Published Date: July 29, 2022 Citation: Misha Roy, Farzana Shamim, Rahul Majumder, Chaitali Ghosh. The Riverine Pollution-A Critical Review to Study the Water Quality and Pollution Load of Some Major Rivers of India. Journal of Alternate Energy Sources & Technologies. 2022; 13(2): 21–36p.