This study assesses the environmental status and water quality of the Saraswati River, an ancient and endangered waterway in Bengal, using an integrated approach. By combining traditional knowledge, advanced geospatial tools, and field analysis, it examines natural and human-induced factors driving the river’s degradation and proposes sustainable restoration strategies. Tools such as the Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS) eTrex10, Google Earth Pro, Landsat imagery, ArcGIS 10.8, and Google Earth Engine (GEE) were used to map the river’s trajectory and estimate its water quality. Remote sensing-derived indices, including the Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), Normalized Difference Salinity Index (NDSI), Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI), Floating Algae Index (FAI), and Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), were computed to evaluate parameters such as the salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll content, and water extent. Additionally, field data from 27 sampling locations were analyzed for 11 critical water quality parameters, such as the pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and microbial content, using an arithmetic weighted water quality index (WQI). The results highlight significant spatial variation in water quality, with WQI values ranging from 86.427 at Jatrasudhi (indicating relatively better conditions) to 358.918 at Gobra Station Road (signaling severe contamination). The pollution is primarily driven by urban solid waste, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and untreated sewage. A microbial analysis revealed the presence of harmful species, including Escherichia coli (E. coli), Bacillus, and Entamoeba, with elevated concentrations in regions like Bajra, Chinsurah, and Chandannagar. The study detected heavy metals, fertilizers, and pesticides, highlighting significant anthropogenic impacts. The recommended mitigation measures include debris removal, silt extraction, riverbank stabilization, modern hydraulic structures, improved waste management, systematic removal of water hyacinth and decomposed materials, and spoil bank design in spilling zones to restore the river’s natural flow.

In this paper we have investigated the data acquired from the analysis of the soil and water samples from and around the dump sites in Kolkata and North 24 Paragana district of West Bengal where the population density is extremely high. The treatment of disposal of municipal solid wastes and waste water has been inadequate to negligible in these areas and as a result the quality of soil and water bodies is subject to deterioration. We have made use of GPS enabled Satellite acquired images and its associated softwares to identify and demarcate the areas that come under the direct impact of the dumping sites, and which ultimately are the areas prone to diseases and degradation in the coming years. The pH, salinity, Total Dissolved Solvents and oxidation reduction potential has been investigated for the basic characterization of the samples. An estimate of heavy metals has also been made. Estimation of salts and oxides from the various sediments and soil samples were acquired. Identification of bacteria, under the purview of biological studies and the dependence of their growth on physiochemical parameters of the surrounding has portrayed an alarming result. Adjacent to these areas there are agricultural fields where leached water from the dumping site directly drain into and cause biomagnifications. Contamination of the ground water is also sizable. This research will help to control pollution and biological outbreaks as well as suggest areas where immediate care should be taken to set up environmental restoration. The findings of the paper will further enlighten the planning and designing of waste disposal in urban areas and assist in its policy making in urban areas and thereby improve the quality of life of the scavengers who are left to equate their survival with the garbage mounds.