The River Yamuna is one of the largest rivers in northern India. It serves as a major source of potable water to the National Capital Delhi. A study was carried out to monitor and quantify three common antibiotics in surface water, with the help of Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) coupled with the Mass spectrophotometer (MS/MS)-based method. All the major river water locations in the research area were sampled in triplicate to determine the significant presence of antibiotics from local areas, hospitals, drug manufacturing facilities, and residential areas. Using spiked, as well as actual samples, an optimized method for the detection and quantification of different concentrations of antibiotics was developed. Spatiotemporal variations in the physicochemical properties at the five sites, including reference site-6 (Jamia Millia Islamia), during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon period, were also investigated. Maximum concentration was observed during the pre-monsoon season followed by the post-monsoon season. The highest detected antibiotic concentration from the river water samples was that of ofloxacin (145.3794 ng/mL), followed by amoxicillin (3.033 ng/mL) and erythromycin (2.171 ng/mL). An aquatic environment may be very vulnerable to dangers from these pharmaceutical residues, according to this risk assessment. Additionally, the levels and compositions of pharmaceutical residue in the aquatic ecosystem might be influenced by seasonal agricultural application, precipitation, and temperature. The findings revealed the existence of antibiotics because of their indiscriminate usage, which may have resulted in the development of resistant strains and ultimately contributed to the spread of antibiotic resistance among living organisms in the river. Thus, attention is required particularly to this section of river as it is the local lifeline source for urban consumers for the domestic water supply and farmers for cultivation.

This paper analyses the pattern of urbanization and its impact on the quality and quantity of flow in the Yamuna river basin, India. The Yamuna river basin is a part of Great Ganga-Brahmaputra basin in India. During the last two decades, the basin has undergone urbanization at an unprecedented rate. The number of cities and towns in the basin has significantly increased over the last few decades, leading to an increase in water demand and reduction in water holding capacity in the basin. Urbanization has resulted in adverse impacts on surface water drainage system that often gets clogged up due to siltation. Although the flow during the monsoon season has increased in the River Yamuna, but the water availability during the dry season is still not adequate to meet various competing demands. An adverse impact of urbanization has been on the quality of river flow, which has deteriorated largely due to the disposal of untreated industrial and domestic sewage in the river. Due to urbanization, the flooding events in the basin, both in terms of magnitude and frequency, have exhibited an increasing pattern. Consequently, the vulnerability of thickly populated areas along the river has increased. Several implementable measures for sustainable development and flood risk management of the river Yamuna basin have been suggested in this paper. The results of the study presented herein could be effectively utilized by basin managers and planners to mitigate the adverse impacts of urbanization in river Yamuna basin.

The movement of emerging pollutants, particularly antibiotics, from surface water to crops through the process of plant uptake poses a significant public concern related to the agricultural utilization of untreated water and biosolids. It is essential to consider the potential risk of inadvertent human exposure and the accumulation of drug residues in fresh food crops, particularly in the case of various green vegetables. Nowadays, environmental research is mainly focusing on the bioaccumulation and threat posed by pharmaceutical residues, especially antibiotics and personal care products in the soil–plant ecosystem. In the present study, the concentration of pharmaceuticals in soil samples collected from agricultural fields irrigated with Yamuna water were evaluated using suitable extraction and sophisticated instrumentation techniques. Out of the five sampling locations, the highest concentration of ofloxacin was reported at Site-V (0.265 µg/mg) during the premonsoon period and the lowest concentration (0.014 µg/mg) during the postmonsoon at Site-II, in terms of the average concentration; this could be due to the combined effect of anthropogenic activities, surface water runoff, and the combined load of drains in the vicinity. For the quantification of the selected antibiotics in a green leafy vegetable (Spinach oleracea), the concentration of ofloxacin was found to be the highest at Okhla barrage Site-V (5.586 µg/mg) during the premonsoon period, with the lowest concentration observed at Site-I, from 1.382 µg/mg to 1.698 µg/mg, during the postmonsoon period. The higher concentration of ofloxacin in crops is because of its susceptibility to being absorbed at the soil’s surface. Plant absorption of antibiotics is influenced primarily by the biological characteristics of the plant, encompassing factors like the lipid and carbohydrate composition of the plant roots. Additionally, the physiochemical properties of the drugs, including molecular size, Kow, and pKa, play a significant role in this process. The antibiotics showed greater variation in their concentration during the premonsoon than in the postmonsoon period, which may be because of precipitation, dilution, and the leaching effect of the soil. For all three of the drugs studied, the concentrations followed the order of ofloxacin > amoxicillin > erythromycin. Thus, the effective management of contaminated soils and vegetables must consider continuous monitoring and risk assessment of high-priority antibiotics to prevent negative effects on the natural environment and human health.

The rapid population growth and an increase in the living standard of inhabitants have caused insurmountable problems to the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) of Bhopal city. The city generates approximately 800 t/d of municipal solid waste (MSW) and it is estimated to increase to approximately 2735 t/d by the year 2035. This paper presents an overview of the existing MSWM practices in Bhopal city and suggests a roadmap to overcome the shortcoming. Some of the major drawbacks are: an absence of an engineering landfill, improper management of MSW, lack of suitable facilities (equipment and infrastructure) and funds. This has caused contamination of different environmental slots, including soil, groundwater/surface water and air leading to unhealthy dwelling conditions. Physical and chemical analyses of waste indicates a high concentration (45%) of biodegradable waste, low calorific value (378–4680 kcal/kg) and high moisture content (>30%) of MSW. Overall, 15% of the waste was found suitable for electricity generation. A roadmap for better management is proposed that includes segregation at source, recycling and reuse for sustainable management of MSW as per provisions made in solid waste management rules, 2016. This roadmap will definitely enhance the awareness campaign ‘Team Up to Clean Up’ launched by Bhopal Municipal Corporation in 2014.

With the advent of technologies in many countries, pharmaceutically active compounds (PhAC), personal care products (PPCPs), and other medicines have been treated by particular facilities. Although the overall rate of PhACs extraction from hospital wastewater (HWW) through different secondary wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been high equal to 79–99%, activity and proliferation of neurotransmitters are inhibited by antiseptics due to the low removal rate of some elements, such as naproxen, excellent-performance technologies are still needed. Venlafaxine and citalopram are the most used antidepressants associated with 10–12% removal value through WWTPs. While HWW contains various types of antibiotics, they improve biocides’ bacterial tolerance against treatment. Ozonation is one of the methods to enhance biodegradability, whereas biofilm reactors have effectively removed emerging contaminants (ECs). Combined activate sludge (CAS) and membrane filtration bioreactors will potently exclude compounds, but previous studies show that membrane filtration bioreactors are around 30%-55% more efficient. ECs elimination in tertiary treatment has shown its great ability rather than conventional treatment sectors. Moreover, ozone treatment can decrease in PPCPs value as 90–98% through activated carbon beds. Activated carbon (NAC) has shown its full capability for micropollutants removal from PAC and membrane bioreactors as well as PPCP reside removal from treated effluents. The ratio of infect COVID-19 in one area was directly proportional, as revealed by SARS-CoV-2 detection in both HWW and wastewater in almost all countries. In this research study, multiple treatment techniques are evaluated in order to offer great-performance technology.