Potable Water Quality Analysis of Various Sources Available at Nilachal Hills (Kamakhya Hill), Guwahati, Assam, India

Tanvi Hussain, Dulal C Goswami

Abstract: Kamakhya temple situated atop Nilachal Hills in Guwahati, Assam is a famous pilgrimage and one of the shakti peeths in India. Several festivals are celebrated in the temple of which Amubachi mela is the prominent one. Lakhs of devotees throng the temple to have a glimpse to the deity during the mela. Devotees, saints, priests, tourists etc. who visit the temple, during the mela and round the year, and the inhabitants of the hills, use different sources of water available in the hill for drinking. Water is nature?s elixir and even more than a nutrient, a cleanser in human body. Thus, pure drinking water is an essential commodity for healthy living. This paper attempts to bring the significant quality of potable water at various sources in Nilachal Hill before the mela. Physico-chemical parameter of any water body plays an important role in maintaining fragile ecosystem that maintains various life forms. Present research deals with various parameters such as temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness, dissolved oxygen, iron, chloride, fluoride, sulphate, and phosphate. The results were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for drinking water.

Keywords: Potable water quality, Nilachal Hills, WHO, BIS, ecosystem