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River
Ganga (गगां)
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Introduction and map of Ganga
The Ganga (गगां) is a major river of the Indian subcontinent
rising in the Himalaya Mountains and flowing about 2,510 km (1,560 mi) generally eastward through a vast plain to the
Bay of Bengal. On its 1,560-mi (2,510-km) course, it flows southeast through the Indian states of Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. In central Bangladesh it is joined by the
Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. Their combined waters (called the Padma River)
empty into the Bay of Bengal and form a delta 220 mi (354 km) wide, which is
shared by India and Bangladesh. Its plain is one of the most fertile and densely
populated regions in the world.
Ganga river known as Ganga Maata (गगां माता)
or Mother Ganges is revered as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful and aids the dead on their path toward heaven.
In most Hindu families, a vial of water from the Ganga is kept in every house. It is believed that
drinking water from the Ganga with one's last breath will take the soul to
heaven. Hindus also believe life is incomplete without bathing in the Ganga at least
once in their lifetime. Some of the most important Hindu festivals and religious congregations are
celebrated on the banks of the river Ganga such as the Kumbh Mela or the Kumbh
Fair and the Chhat Puja. Kumbh Mela is the largest religious gathering on Earth for Hindu
peoples, where around 70 million Hindus from around the world participated in
the last Kumbh Mela at the Hindu Holy city Prayaga (also known as
Allahabad).
The upper Ganges supplies water to extensive irrigation works. The river passes
the holy bathing sites at Haridwar, Allahabad (where the Yamuna River enters the
Ganges), and Varanasi. Below Allahabad the Ganges becomes a slow, meandering
stream with shifting channels. Because of its location near major population centers, however,
the river is highly polluted. The Ganges collects large amounts of human
pollutants as it flows through highly populous areas. These populous areas, and other people down stream, are then
exposed to these potentially hazardous accumulations.
Map of Ganga
The enlarged
map of Ganga river from Gangotri to Bay of Bengal
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Source of Ganga River
In the Uttarakhand Himalayas
where glacial water flowing from a cave at Gaumukh, is the origin of the
Bhagirathi river. Gaumukh has been described as a desolate
place at an altitude of about 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Twenty-three kilometers from Gaumukh, the river reaches Gangotri, the first town on its path. Thousands of visitors come to Gangotri each year,
from every part of the world. The river which joins the Alaknanda river at Devaprayag, also in the
Uttarakhand Himalayas, to form the Ganga. The Ganga then flows through the
Himalayan valleys and emerges into the north Indian plain at the town of
Haridwar.
Recent pictures taken by Google Earth via satellite have
confirmed that an eight-km stretch of the Bhagirathi river has dried up. The river is shown snaking through the Himalayan
mountains as one long, sandy stretch minus any water. Other rivers emanating
from the Gangotri glacier, including the Bhilangana, the Assi Ganga and the
Alaknanda, all tributaries of the Ganga river, are also drying up.
Since the river Ganga (Bhagirathi) is still emanating from the ice cave (Gaumukh) of Gangotri Glacier, no steps are required to be taken at present for bringing back the flow of river Ganga. As far as the recession of the glacier is concerned it is a part of natural phenomena and cannot be stopped by using short term artificial measures. This information was given by Union
Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal, in a written reply to a question by Shri Vijoy Krishna in the Lok Sabha on April 29, 2008.
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In the Uttarakhand Himalayas
where glacial water flowing from a cave at Gaumukh, is the origin of the
Bhagirathi river. Twenty-three km. from Gaumukh, the river reaches
Gangotri, the first town on its path.
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Ganga River in plains
On its 1,560-mi
(2,510-km) course in plains, Ganga flows southeast through the Indian states of Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.
The Ganga passing some of the most populous cities
of India, including Kanpur , Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkata.
The Yamuna, which originates less than a hundred miles east of the
Bhagirathi, flows parallel to the Ganga and a little to the south for most of its course
before merging with the Ganga at the holy city of Allahabad, also known as
Triveni Sangam. New Delhi, capital of India, and Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, are two of the major
cities on the Yamuna.
The largest tributary to the Ganga is the Ghaghara, which meets it before Patna,
in Bihar, bearing much of the Himalayan glacier melt from Northern Nepal. The
Gandak, which comes from near Katmandu, is another big Himalayan tributary.
Other important rivers that merge with the Ganga are the Son, which originates
in the hills of Madhya Pradesh, the Gomti which flows past Lucknow, and
then meets with the river Chambal.
On its way it passes the towns of Mirzapur, Varanasi, Patna and
Bhagalpur. At Bhagalpur, the river meanders past the Rajmahal Hills, and beings
to change course southwards. At Pakaur, the river begins its first attrition
with the branching away of its first distributary, the River Bhagirathi, which
goes on to form the River Hooghly. Close to the border with Bangladesh, the
Farakka Barrage, built in 1974 controls the flow of the Ganges, diverting some
of the water into a feeder canal linking the Hooghly to keep it relatively silt
free.
After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges is known as Padma River
till it is joined by the Jamuna River the largest distributary of the
Brahmaputra. Further downstream, the Ganges is fed by the Meghna River, the
second largest distributary of the Brahmaputra and takes on its name. Fanning
out into the 350 km (220 mi) wide Ganges Delta, it empties out into the Bay of
Bengal. The delta of the Ganga, or rather, that of the Hooghly and the Padma, is a vast
ragged swamp forest (42,000 sq km) called the Sunderbans.
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Ganga river in
plains
Ganga river in
plains
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Pollution in Ganga River
Today, over 29 cities, 70 towns, and thousands of villages extend along the Ganges' banks. Nearly all of their sewage - over 1.3 billion liters per day - goes directly into the river, along with thousands of animal carcasses, mainly cattle. Another 260 million liters of industrial waste are added to this by hundreds of factories along the river's
banks.
Municipal sewage constitutes 80 per cent by volume of the total waste
dumped into the Ganges, and industries contribute about 15 percent. The majority of the Ganges pollution is organic waste,
sewage, trash, food, and human and animal remains. Over the past century, city populations along the Ganges have grown at a tremendous rate, while waste-control infrastructure has remained relatively unchanged.
Recent water samples collected in Varanasi revealed fecal-coliform counts of about 50,000 bacteria per 100 milliliters of water, 10,000% higher than the government standard for safe river bathing. The result of this pollution is an array of water-borne diseases including cholera, hepatitis, typhoid and amoebic dysentery. An estimated 80% of all health problems and one-third of deaths in India are attributable to water-borne diseases.
The sacred practice of depositing human remains in the Ganges also poses health threats because of the unsustainable rate at which partially cremated cadavers are dumped. In Varanasi, some 40,000 cremations are performed each year, most on wood pyres that do not completely consume the body. Along with the remains of these traditional funerals, there are thousands more who cannot afford cremation and whose bodies are simply thrown into the Ganges. In addition, the carcasses of
thousands of dead cattle, which are sacred to Hindus, go into the river each year.
An inadequate cremation procedures contributes to a large number of partially burnt or unburnt corpses floating down the Ganga.
The industrial pollutants also a major source of contamination in the
Ganges. A total of 146 industries are reported to be located along the river Ganga between Rishikesh and Prayagraj. 144 of these are in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) and 2 in Uttrakhand.
The major polluting industries on the Ganga are the leather industries,
especially near Kanpur, which use large amounts of Chromium and other toxic chemical waste,
and much of it finds its way into the meager flow of the Ganga.
From the plains to the sea, pharmaceutical companies, electronics plants, textile and paper industries, tanneries, fertilizer manufacturers and oil refineries discharge effluent into the river. This hazardous waste includes hydrochloric acid, mercury and other heavy metals, bleaches and dyes, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls
highly toxic compounds that accumulate in animal and human tissue.
However, industry is not the only source of pollution. Sheer volume of waste -
estimated at nearly 1 billion litres per day - of mostly untreated raw sewage -
is a significant factor. Runoff from farms in the Ganges basin adds chemical fertilizers and pesticides such as DDT, which is banned in the United States because of its toxic
and carcinogenic effects on humans and wildlife. Damming the river or diverting its water, mainly for irrigation purposes, also adds to the pollution crisis.
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Ganga action plan
In 1985, the government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan, which was devised to clean up the river in selected areas by installing sewage treatment plants and threatening fines and litigation against industries that pollute. Almost 20 years later, the plan has been largely unsuccessful.
Many Indians blame the plans failure on mismanagement, corruption and technological mistakes. A key criticism is that local communities, those most invested in the health of the river, were not included in the planning process.
A total of Rs.740.11 crore has been released to different States so far for
implementation of schemes for the river Ganga under Ganga Action Plan (GAP). The GAP Phase – I, the first attempt of the Government of India to undertake pollution abatement works in the river Ganga, was launched in the year 1985 with the objective of treating 882 million litres per day (mld) of sewage and improving its water quality to bathing class standards. This Phase was declared completed in March, 2000 with the creation of sewage treatment
apacity of 865 mld. Since GAP Phase – I did not cover the pollution load of Ganga fully, GAP Phase – II which includes plans for its major tributaries namely, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and
Mahananda, besides Ganga, was approved in stages from 1993 onwards. The above two phases of Ganga Action Plan have continued since their inception with GAP-I having been completed in 2000 and GAP-II is presently under implementation.
A total of 146 industries are reported to be located along the river Ganga between Rishikesh and Prayagraj. 144 of these are in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) and 2 in
Uttrakhand. Of the grossly polluting industries in U.P., 82 industries have installed Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) and are reported to be complying with the
standards, 27 industries, though have installed ETPs are not reported to be complying with the prescribed standards and 35 industries are reported to have been closed. The Central Pollution Control Board has issued directions to the State Pollution Control Boards under Section 18 1(b) of Water Act, 1974 for taking appropriate legal action against the defaulting industries. In the State of
Uttrakhand, of the 2 Grossly Polluting Industries, one is reported to have installed the ETP and the other is reported to have been closed. As regards the number of drains falling into the river in the towns covered under the Ganga Action Plan and number of identified Gross Polluting Industries which discharge their effluent in the river between Rishikesh and
Prayagraj, the same is given in the Annexure.
As part of the Plan, Interception & Diversions (I&D) works of sewage and installation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are taken up to trap and treat the sewage water. The approved works under the GAP so far envisage to treat approximately 65% of the domestic pollution load of the river. A sewage treatment capacity of 933 million litres per day (mld.) has been created so far under GAP for the river Ganga through installation of STPs. The Government has further signed a loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
(JBIC) for undertaking the pollution abatement works of the river at Varanasi. Assistance has also been sought from the same agency for similar projects at Allahabad and
Kanpur. With the pollution abatement works completed so far under GAP Phase – I & II, the water quality of the river Ganga has shown improvement at major locations over its pre-GAP quality as per the Water Quality Monitoring
(WQM) undertaken by independent reputed institutions like Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.
(BHEL), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and Indian Toxicological Research Centre
(ITRC), Lucknow. Number of drains falling into the river in the towns covered under the Ganga Action Plan between Rishikesh and Prayagraj.
A citizen-based Sankat Mochan Foundation, started in Varanasi in 1982, has made great strides toward a lasting clean-up of the Ganges. With a dual identity as Hindu priest and civil engineer, the organization's
founder, Veer Bhadra Mishra, has approached the problem from both a scientific and
a spiritual perspective. In collaboration with engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, Mishra has proposed an alternative
sewage-treatment plan for Varanasi that is compatible with the climate and conditions of India. The advanced integrated wastewater oxidation pond system would store sewage in a series of ponds and use bacteria and algae to break down waste and purify the water.
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History
The Ganga is mentioned in the Rig-Veda, the earliest of the Hindu scriptures.
The Ganga is mentioned in the nadistuti (Rig Veda 10.75), which lists the rivers
from east to west. In RV 6.45.31, the word Ganga is also mentioned, but it is
not clear if the reference is to the river.RV 3.58.6 says that "your ancient home, your auspicious friendship, O Heroes,
your wealth is on the banks of the Jahnavi (JahnAvyAm)". This verse could
possibly refer to the Ganga. In RV 1.116.18-19, the Jahnavi and the Gangetic
dolphin occur in two adjacent verses.
During the early Indo-Aryan Ages, the Indus and the Saraswati were the major
rivers, not the Ganga. But the later three Vedas seem to give much more
importance to the Ganga, as shown by its numerous references. According to the Hindu Purans, Goddess Ganga used to exist only in Heaven. Then
prince Bhagirath worshipped Ganga to descend on earth. This is why Ganga is also
known as Bhagirathi. In the Mahabharath this story is also mentioned. In fact,
Ganga is a major character in the Mahabharath, where she's the mother of Bhisma.
Another version of the myth tells us that Ganga descended to earth to purify the souls of the 60,000 sons of
an ancient ruler, King Sagara, who had been burnt to ashes by an enraged ascetic.
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Khumb Mela
The Kumbh Mela, the largest religious gathering on earth, is held every 12 years on the banks of the Triveni Sangam - the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and
Saraswati. The Mela alternates between Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years. The one celebrated at the Holy Sangam in Allahabad is the largest and holiest of them. The Mela is attended by millions of devotees, including Sadhus. A holy dip in the sacred waters is believed to cleanse the soul.
The Ardh or 'half Kumbh' Mela, is held every six years on the banks of Sangam. Second only to the Kumbh in sanctity, the Ardh Kumbh also attracts devotes in the millions, from all over the world. Magh Mela is an annual event held at the
Sangam.
In Hindu religion Kumbh is the symbol of spiritual awakening.
It is the symbol of the confluence of nature and humanity. Kumbh is the source of all energy. Kumbh makes humankind realize this world and the other, sins and blessings, wisdom and ignorance, darkness and light.
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Traditional procession of Akharas, shining swords of naga, sages in Shahi Snan (royal bath) between elephants, horses, musical
instruments, horse race attracts lakhs of devotees to visit Kumbh. |
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Economy
Watered by the monsoons, this silt-enriched land produces a significant portion of the rice, wheat, millet, sugar, and barley needed to feed the world's second most populous nation. The rain feds the land, dilutes the
river's muddy stream, flushes out excess sediment and suspended matter, and revitalizes the river where its flow was sluggish.
The Ganges and its tributaries provide a
perennial source of irrigation to a large area. The Ganges can swell a thousand-fold during the monsoons.
Haridwar, Allahabad, and Varanasi are the the source of
tourism and attract thousands of pilgrims to its waters.
Thousands of Hindu pilgrims arrive at these three towns to take a dip in the Ganges, which
is believed to cleanse oneself of sins and help attain salvation.
Ecology
According to studies reported by environmental engineer D.S. Bhargava of the University of Roorkee, the Ganges decomposes organic waste 15 to 25 times faster than other rivers.
The Ganges has an extraordinarily high rate of reaeration, the process by which it absorbs atmospheric oxygen. When organic waste is dropped into it, as much as 60 per cent of the BOD is processed within an hour. The water quality samples also
suggest that the Ganges retains DO much longer than does water from other rivers. If this is true, it could explain why bottled water from the Ganges reportedly does not putrefy even after many years of storage.
The Ganges collects large amounts of human pollutants as it flows through highly
populous areas. These populous areas, and other people down stream, are then
exposed to these potentially hazardous accumulations.
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Ganga delta and Ganga in sea
The delta of the
Ganga, or rather, that of the Hooghly and the Padma, is a vast
ragged swamp forest (42,000 sq km) called the Sunderbans, home of the Royal
Bengal Tiger. The river courses in the delta are broad and active, carrying a vast amount of water. On the seaward side of the delta are swamplands and tidal forests called Sunderbans which are protected conservation areas in both Indian and Bangladeshi law. The peat found in the delta is used for fertilizer and fuel. The water supply to the river depends on the rains brought by the monsoon winds from July to October and the melting snow from the Himalayas during the period from April to June. The delta also experiences strong cyclonic storms before and after the monsoon season which can be devastating.
The delta used to be densely forested and inhabited by many wild animals. Today, however, it has
become intensely cultivated to meet the needs of the growing population and many of the wild animals have disappeared. The Royal Bengal Tiger still lives in the Sunderbans and kills about 30 villagers every year. There remains high fish populations in the rivers which provides an important part of the inhabitants' diet. Bird life in the Ganges basin is also prolific.
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Ganges River Delta is the world's largest delta, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is also one of the most
fertile regions in the world, also called The Green Delta.
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Ganga in Kolkata
The main branch of the Ganges, the Padma, passes through the Farraka Barrage, a gigantic barrier
designed to divert the Ganges waters into the Indian Hooghly branch, and away from the Padma. Completed by the Indian government in the early 1970s, it was intended to help flush out the increasing silt deposits in the Hooghly, to improve navigation, and to provide
Kolkata with irrigation and drinking water.
About 150 large industrial plants are lined up on the banks of the Hooghly at
Kolkata. Together, these plants contribute 30 percent of the total industrial effluent reaching the mouths of the Ganges. Of this, half comes from pulp and paper industries, which discharge a dark brown, oxygen-craving slurry of bark and wood fiber, mercury and other heavy metals which accumulate in fish tissues, and chemical toxins like bleaches and dyes, which produce dioxin and other persistent compounds.
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Now Ganga threatened by Expressway
Lucknow, January 14, 2008: The UP state government will select a developer for the
ambitious Rs 30,000- crore Ganga Expressway project within a couple of days after
a committee submits a report to the state Cabinet. Financial bids from five companies
for developing the 1,047-km project, linking Noida and Ballia, have been referred to an empowered committee headed by the
chief secretary, state Industrial Development Commissioner. The expressway promises to reduce
travel time from Ballia to Noida to about 10 hours.
Ganga Expressway is anti-Hindu, says BJP and it will hurt Hindu sentiments by compounding pollution in
the Ganga. “Ganga is the most sacred river to every Hindu. But the project that entails development of
industrial pockets edging the 1,047-km Greater Noida to Ballia expressway will
aggravate the pollution in the river. We will fight out the Expressway both on
streets as well as in state legislature,” state BJP president Ramapati Ram
Tripathi told mediapersons. “Till now, industrial units and leather tanneries in
Kanpur were dumping pollutants into the river, but industrial pockets along the
expressway will result in more industrial effluents flowing freely into the
Ganga,” he added. The state party president further said, “We will not let the
project take off as it will not only pollute the sacred river, but also result
in widespread displacement of rural population as well as destruction of agriculture by converting farmers into landless
labourers. Other opposition parties including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party,
are also planning to protest against the expressway. |
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Ganga threatened by climate change
The Ganga is also one of the rivers most threatened by climate change. According to a report by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change looking at the threat from climate change to human development and the environment, “only the polar icecaps hold more fresh water than the Himalayan glaciers”: “If the
current trends of climate change continue, by 2030 the size of the glaciers could be reduced by as much as 80 per cent,”
warns the report, titled “Up in Smoke -- Asia and the Pacific”, released here
in November 2007.
Some of India’s most important rivers are fed by the Himalayan glaciers. But rising temperatures means that many of the Himalayan glaciers are melting fast, and could diminish significantly over the coming
decades with catastrophic results. In the long run, the water flow in the Ganges could drop by two-thirds, affecting more than 400 million people who depend on it for drinking water. The report warns that in the short term the rapid melting of ice high up in the Himalayas might cause river swelling and floods. The formation of
glacial lakes of melt-water creates the threat of outburst floods leading to devastation in lowland valleys.
Current news on Ganga River
KOLKATA, April
3, 2008: After announcing a Rs 25 crore grant for the development of the river Hooghly
during the Ganga festival last August, Ms Ambika Soni, Union tourism minister, is yet to sanction the funds. The area demarcated for the beautification project was from Princep Ghat to Sarbamangala Ghat.
Rajya Sabhha, March 13, 2008: The monitoring of water quality of river Ganga under the Ganga Action Plan indicates that the water quality of river is not complying with the desired standards in stretches along the towns of Kanpur and Varanasi, but meeting with the norms in its stretch along the Haridwar town. The levels of Fecal Coliforms (bacterial indicator for health concerns) are also reported to be exceeding the
maximum permissible limit of 2500 MPN (Most Probable Number) per 100 milliliter at many of the monitoring stations along river Ganga except in upstream locations of
Haridwar.
Since 1985, with the implementation of Ganga Action Plan (GAP) for pollution abatement activities in the
identified polluted stretches of river Ganga, a total sewage treatment capacity of 1765.34 million litres per day has been created so far for Ganga and its major tributaries. Despite phenomenal increase in the urban
population along the banks of the river leading to increased pollution loads, the water quality of river Ganga has shown discernible improvement in terms of organic pollution at major locations, over the pre-Action Plan water quality. This information was given by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Shri Namo Narain Meena, in a written reply to a question by Dr (Shrimati ) Najma Hepttulla, in the Rajya Sabha today.
New Delhi, March 07, 2008 (PTI):
The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear the issue of discharge of untreated sewage into the Ganga posing a cancer threat to people living on its banks. Two applications filed in the apex court pointed to threat of deadly diseases afflicting due to domestic sewage pollution of the
Ganga in 36 towns in four states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The applications pointed out that the pollution posed thread of diseases like gall bladder cancer, mild
intestinal disease and kidney complications. The court, which is monitoring the ambitious Ganga Action Plan aimed at checking pollution in the river, was informed that the serious health hazards due to domestic
sewage pollution had been confirmed by Industrial Toxicology Research Institute, Lucknow.
Advocate Krishan Mahajan, expressed the urgency of hearing the health threat to around 76 per cent of the people living on the banks. He said that the latest report of the Lucknow institute had found that Ganga
waters have become home to a virulent form of E-coli bacteria (producing the Shiga toxin) that can lead to
ailments ranging from mild intestinal disease to severe kidney complications.
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