The various myths associated with Ganga and staunch Hindu beliefs associated with the river sanctify it as a goddess. Hindus view goddess Ganga as a fair complexioned beautiful woman wearing a white crown with a water lily and a water pot in her hands, and riding her pet crocodile.
This is very correct symbolical depiction of Holy Ganga which poured down to bow the balanced bodies and such particles after the end of Mahabharata. History further reveals that Ganga, the blessing of Devtas, poured down through the locks of Lord Shiva. This was actually a humanity welfare step of Lord Shiva. Ganga, is, thus, to bring a solace to the pairs of humanity.
It starts from Gadgetry and joins the sea of Ganga Sager, a place in Bengal. Its root moves from Rishikesh, Haridwar, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Garh Ganga to further eastwards till it reaches bay of Bengal. Ganga has very sweet and pure water. In spite of the religious pollutions and negligent usage of the people, Ganga remains the best cleaning agent. The religious and historical relativity of Ganga has made it one of the Holiest rivers of the world. Ganga water is also found to be useful for cultivation of vegetable, fruits and other crops.
Despite knowing the fact that river Ganga has a very important role to play, mankind has used it in the most shabby manner. They open all the garbage drains in the river. The dead bodies with all the contagious and infected diseases are thrown I the flowing water of this river. Some of the cities even throw the dead animals such as dogs, pigs and unclaimed cows in the river. The pollution level of water of this river is increasing day by day and people hardly bother about it.
The actual control about the maintenance is administered by priests and pandas. They wish to exploit every dip in Ganga and hardly bother about return efforts for the river. The normal travelers are keen to pass a day smoothly on the river. They have no interest in the cleanliness of Ganga Water. Manikarnika Ghat and Raja Harishchandra Ghat are some of the prominent river banks in the Varanasi, where the old time some control the activities. The dead bodies are cremated on these Ghats.
Besides the religious history the Ganga has sentimental and deep values for Indians. Every house wants to maintain a casket of Gangajal. People like mix this water in their food every day. They even sprinkle water in the house for ‘Shuddhi’.
Ganga, a symbol of spiritualism and sentiments, has so much to give, provided we take it in a systematic manner. Ganga Cleaning Board has been formed. It is taking all the steps to improve the conditions of the river. Ganga’s popularity has a great effect even on NRI’s attachments. They are as much willing to spare funds for its improvement. Ganga can certainly attach masses if it is maintained in a proper manner. Haridwar and Rishikesh are today improving the set ups. The pand ruling has undergone a change by establishment of trusts in the management. The city drains have been diverted to other areas. Congestion of population is being shifted to remote areas.
The Ganges River, also called Ganga, is a river located in northern India that flows toward the border with Bangladesh (map). It is the longest river in India and flows for around 1,569 miles (2,525 km) from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal. The river has the second greatest water discharge in the world and its basin is the most heavily populated in the world with over 400 million people living in the basin.
The Ganges River is extremely important to the people of India as most of the people living on its banks use it for daily needs such as bathing and fishing. It is also significant to Hindus as they consider it their most sacred river.Course of the Ganges River
The headwaters of the Ganges River begin high in the Himalayan Mountains where the Bhagirathi River flows out of the Gangotri Glacier in India's Uttarakhand state. The glacier sits at an elevation of 12,769 feet (3,892 m). The Ganges River proper begins farther downstream where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers join. As the Ganges flows out of the Himalayas it creates a narrow, rugged canyon.
The Ganges River emerges from the Himalayas at the town of Rishikesh where it begins to flow onto the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This area, also called the North Indian River Plain, is a very large, relatively flat, fertile plain that makes up most of the northern and eastern parts of India as well as parts of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. In addition to entering the Indo-Gangetic Plain at this area, part of the Ganges River is also diverted toward the Ganges Canal for irrigation in the Uttar Pradesh state.
As the Ganges River then flows farther downstream it changes its direction several times and is joined by many other tributary rivers such as the Ramganga, Tamsa and Gandaki rivers to name a few. There are also several cities and towns that the Ganges River passes through on its way downstream. Some of these include Chunar, Kolkata, Mirzapur, and Varanasi. Many Hindus visit the Ganges River in Varanasi as that city is considered the holiest of cities. As such, the city's culture is also closely tied into the river as it is the most sacred river in Hinduism.
Once the Ganges River flows out of India and into Bangladesh its main branch is known as the Padma River. The Padma River is joined downstream by large rivers like the Jamuna and Meghna rivers. After joining the Meghna it takes on that name before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Prior to entering the Bay of Bengal however, the river creates the world's largest delta, Ganges Delta. This region is a highly fertile sediment laden area that covers 23,000 square miles (59,000 sq km).
It should be noted that the course of the Ganges River described in the above paragraphs is a general description of the river's route from its source where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers join to its outlet at the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges has a very complicated hydrology and there are several different descriptions of its overall length and the size of its drainage basin based on what tributary rivers are included. The most widely accepted length of the Ganges River is 1,569 miles (2,525 km) and its drainage basin is estimated to be about 416,990 square miles (1,080,000 sq km).
Population of the Ganges River
The Ganges River basin has been inhabited by humans since ancient times. The first people in the region were of the Harappan civilization. They moved into the Ganges River basin from the Indus River basin around the 2nd millennium B.C.E. Later the Gangetic Plain became the center of the Maurya Empire and then the Mughal Empire. The first European to discuss the Ganges River was Megasthenes in his work Indica.
In modern times the Ganges River has become a source of life for the nearly 400 million people living in its basin. They rely on the river for their daily needs such as drinking water supplies and food and for irrigation and manufacturing. Today the Ganges River basin is the most populated river basin in the world. It has a population density of about 1,000 people per square mile (390 per sq km).
Significance of the Ganges River
Aside from providing drinking water and irrigating fields, the Ganges River is extremely important to India's Hindu population for religious reasons as well. The Ganges River is considered their most sacred river and it is worshiped as the goddess Ganga Ma or "Mother Ganges" (Dunn).
According to the Myth of the Ganges the goddess Ganga descended from heaven to dwell in the waters of the Ganges River to protect, purify and bring to heaven those who touch it. Devout Hindus visit the river daily to offer flowers and food to Ganga. They also drink the water and bathe in the river to cleanse and purify their sins. In addition, Hindus believe that upon death the waters of the Ganges River are needed to reach the World of the Ancestors, Pitriloka. As a result, Hindus bring their dead to the river for cremation along its banks and afterward their ashes are spread in the river. In some cases corpses are also thrown into the river. The city of Varanasi is the holiest of cities along the Ganges River and many Hindus travel there place ashes of their dead in the river.
Along with daily baths in the Ganges River and offerings to the goddess Ganga there are large religious festivals that occur in the river throughout the year where millions of people travel to the river to bathe so that they can be purified of their sins.
Pollution of the Ganges River
Despite the religious significance and daily importance of the Ganges River for the people of India, it is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Pollution of the Ganges is caused by both human and industrial waste due to India's rapid growth as well as religious events. India currently has a population of over one billion people and 400 million of them live in the Ganges River basin. As a result much of their waste, including raw sewage is dumped into the river. In addition, many people bathe and use the river to clean their laundry. Fecal coliform bacteria levels near Varanasi are at least 3,000 times higher than the what is established by the World Health Organization as safe (Hammer, 2007).
Industrial practices in India also have little regulation and as the population grows these industries do as well. There are many tanneries, chemical plants, textile mills, distilleries and slaughterhouses along the river and many of them dump their untreated and often toxic waste into the river. The water of the Ganges has been tested to contain high levels of things like chromium sulfate, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and sulfuric acid (Hammer, 2007).
In addition to human and industrial waste some religious activities also increase the pollution of the Ganges. For example, Hindus believe that they must take offerings of food and other items to Ganga and as a result these items are thrown into the river on a regular basis and more so during religious events. Human remains are also often placed into the river.
In the late 1980s India's prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi began the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in an effort to clean up the Ganges River. The plan shut down many highly polluting industrial plants along the river and allotted funding for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities but its efforts have fallen short as the plants are not large enough to handle the waste coming from such a large population (Hammer, 2007). Many of the polluting industrial plants are also still continuing to dump their hazardous waste into the river.
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