It is no secret that the Ganges river is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Indians born 60 or so years ago will have observed the river both in its past state of cleanliness and purity as well as in the heavily polluted state it is in (particularly downstream) today. That’s how fast the Ganges has become polluted, likely to the point of no return. The pollution can be attributed to the following causes as succinctly described in this VICE video:
- Untreated industrial waste
- Waste from tanneries
- Raw sewage (from approximately 1 million people!)
- Decomposing bodies from riverside crematoriums/gravesites, which I discussed in a previous post
- Other urban waste like plastics
- Contaminated discharge from a tuberculosis hospital
A CNA article from last year says that since 2017, “about 4.8 billion litres of sewage from 118 towns and cities flows into the Ganga daily, in addition to garbage and organic waste. But the functioning capacity of sewage treatment plants is only a billion litres”. A large part of the problem is this lack of infrastructure and services to cater to the needs of the growing population, particularly as India rapidly develops. The government lacks the capacity to provide such infrastructure along the sprawling river and its multiple tributaries.
As a consequence of all this pollution accumulating in the waters and in marine biota, the 400 million people reliant on the river have lost their source of clean water. Given the importance of the Ganges, attempts have been made to clean the river. Yet, the pollution problem has reportedly been worsening over time.
Furthermore, the common myth that the river is self-cleaning prevents progressive action from being taken seriously. This myth is believed and perpetuated even by environmental experts and leaders, as explained in a VICE video, which I will be closely referring to in my next two posts.
This post serves as a preface to my subsequent series of posts, where I will highlight two interesting solutions that have been used to clean the river, albeit unsuccessfully. Part 1 will cover the use of carnivorous snapping turtles and Part 2 will cover how the Ganges has been given the status of personhood.
References:
https://graphics.reuters.com/INDIA-RIVER/010081TW39P/index.html
