Kochik 1

Jessica Kochik
Mr. Fronk
World Geography
November 23, 2015
The Ganges River
Section 1: India is a country in South Asia that is known for its large Hindu population.
Hinduism is a strict religion worshipped by the majority of people living in India. The percentage
of people who celebrate this religion is approximately 79%. This number is quite large since the
population is over 1,250,000,000. There are many traditions alive within the Hindu faith, some of
these traditions are facing problems, including that of visiting the Ganges River (Hindu
Population in India, n.p.).
Section 2: The Ganges River is located in India and in some parts of Bangladesh; it runs
through to the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges River is a very holy place for those who believe in
Hinduism. Hindus believe in a famous legend that involves the goddess Ganga, and that she now
lives within the river. Ganga was devoted to Lord Krishna, a god who lived in heaven, and
Radha, his lover, who became jealous of Ganga. She banned Ganga to live in a river on the earth.
This is just one of the many made-up stories that explain why Hindus are so stern about their
practices regarding the Ganges River. They believe that Gangas devotion is how they are
expected to live out their lives in order to truly worship the faith. Ganga is supposed to protect
the river, purify it, and make it holy for those who touch it (Ganges River, n.p.).

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There is a large population of people who live by the river. About 400 million people live
in its basin. The history of its inhabitants date back to 2nd millennium B.C.E. when the Harappan
civilization moved to the Ganges from the Indus Valley. The Ganges is a source of life for the
people because they use it for drinking water and irrigation for their crops. The river itself is
1,569 miles long, and its basin is 23,000 square miles (Ganges River, n.p.).
Many Hindus go to the Ganges River to bathe and drink from the sacred waters. Some of
the citizens even wash their clothes in the river. There are also many tourists that come to do the
same traditions as a way to get a sense of what it is like to celebrate another culture. Many sacred
festivals are celebrated within the Ganges. Hindus also perform ceremonies such as throwing the
ashes of their deceased relatives into the water (McBride, n.p.). Even though this is such an
idolized place, it is debatable whether or not people should be using it to bathe in and drink.
The water of the Ganges is extremely polluted from industrial and human waste. Even
human remains have been found in the water (100 Bodies Recovered, n.p.). There are species of
animals and plants that thrive exclusively in the Ganges River, including the Ganges River
dolphin. The pollution and waste causes many diseases to be spread including cholera and
typhoid. Pollution in the river has not only become a major ecological issue, it has also become a
healthcare concern that must be addressed. Since a large majority of people in India are
impoverished, they cannot get the attention needed if they contract diseases from the river. The
Hindus believe that since Ganga dwells in the water, they will not be harmed by disease, which is
why they continue to bathe in the river, despite having the knowledge about the illnesses. There
are very few regulations about industrial practices that prevent industries from putting their
waste in the water. High levels of chromium sulfate, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and sulfuric
acid have been found in the Ganges River when tested. (Ganges River, n.p.). These elements are

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known to be toxic to mankind when levels are elevated beyond normal levels and can prove to be
lethal.
There have been measures taken to try and stop the pollution and help clean the water.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi began the Ganga Action Plan as a way to start the cleanup of the
Ganges River. This occurred in the 1980s and since then, industrial plants along the river have
been shut down, and other, environment friendly wastewater treatment facilities were
constructed. Plans have not gone as expected since the plants are not big enough to facilitate the
waste of such a large population. Approximately 3.3 million dollars has been spent trying to
clean the Ganges River since the Ganga Action Plan began (Cleaning Up Ganges, n.p.).
Section 3: Some believe that the best option would be to put regulations on the river to
ban human contact. This would help to solve the issue of people contracting diseases, however it
would probably cause more uproar since it is such a highly respected place, and many Hindus
visit there as well as live there. The Ganges River is part of the Hindus spiritual life and culture.
To put a ban on contact would most likely cause an uprising of a large population of people,
whom the country would not be able to control. Additionally, the Ganges River is a source of
water for many inhabitants of India.
A second option to consider would be to control pollution and make the water clean. This
option would work, however the fast-growing population in India causes a unique problem in
that the treatment plants are unable to keep up with all the waste. The lack of infrastructure and
money restricts the construction of new waste treatment plants. In order for this plan to fully
work, the population would need to stop growing at such a significant rate. Even then, solutions
to clean the river water could take hundreds of years to become clean again. Unless another

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solution is created, the people in India who are living off of the Ganges River could be in big
trouble (Cleaning Up Ganges, n.p.).

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Work Cited
"100 Bodies Recovered from India's Ganges - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov.
2015.
"Cleaning Up Ganges - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
"Hindu Population in India." - Current Hindu Population in 2015. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
McBride, Pete. "Chasing the Sacred: Down the Ganges From Snow to Sea." PROOF. N.p., 04
Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
McDougal, Holt. "South Asia." Geography. 1-739.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. 567-577.
Print
"Why India's Ganges River Is So Significant." About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov.
2015.