• Sajal Sarkar
• Sanjoy Shil

Mahananda River is one of the important rivers in North Bengal. Big cities, towns, numerous small human habitats and agricultural land pollute the river. The authors investigated to determine concentrations of some heavy metals in the water and evaluate their suitability for drinking and agricultural purposes. For these purposes, water samples were collected from five sites in the Malda district stretch during the pre-monsoon season. Water quality index analysis designated the river as of 'medium' quality. The heavy metal pollution index revealed the river as 'highly' metal-contaminated. Pearson-correlation matrix analysis represented parameters alkalinity-EC, K-TH, Mg-TH, K-Na, Mg-K, Cd-Zn and Pb-temperature to have strong positive correlations and alkalinity-acidity, TH-acidity, Mg-acidity and Zn-DO have negative correlations. The high HPI values indicated a clear sign of heavy metal pollution in the river water. The SAR values of all five sampling stations classified the water as 'excellent' for irrigational purposes. Regarding MR values, the water of the first sampling station was safe for agricultural practices, and the other four were moderately safe. The MH values of all sampling stations were above the permissible range, indicating unsuitability for irrigation. In the modern situation, the river needs management of magnesium hazards to save the river.

Mahananda River, Heavy metal pollution index (HPI), Heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), Water quality index (WQI), Magnesium hazard (MH).

"Heavy metal pollution in the water of the Mahananda River in the Malda district segment, West Bengal, India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no.108-120, April-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904X16.pdf

"Heavy metal pollution in the water of the Mahananda River in the Malda district segment, West Bengal, India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 4, page no. pp108-120, April-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1904X16.pdf