The Ganges River, by Sander Houweling
Length: 1,560 miles (2,510 kilometres)
Environmental Problems
The major causes of pollution in the Ganges are:
- Discharge of wastewater from urban areas.
- Dumping of garbage along the riverside.
- Discharge of chemical and industrial wastewater.
- Dumping of carcasses (dead cows) and half- and un-burned human remains.
- Flow off of pesticides and insecticides from the farming lands near the river.
Conclusion
To restore the water quality in the Ganges River there has to be a way to fight against the pollution. This way has been found in the way of the “Central Ganga Authority”. This organization wants to obtain a healthy and a non-polluted river.
The organization achieved a reduction of polluted elements and the water quality has been improved considerably.
Abstract
The Ganges-river is the most important river of India and over there it is called de “Ganga”. The river is formed near the village of Devprayag in the Himalayas, where the Bhagirathien-river and the Alaknanda-river join. These rivers originate from the worlds largest glacier, the Gangotri-glacier that is situated near the mountain of Sumero on a height of 6600 meters. From Devprayag the river flows south-eastwards in the direction of the village of Farakka, this is where the delta begins. In West-Bengal the river divides into de Ganges-river and the Hooghly-river. The Hooghly-river flows out in the Bay of Bengal at the city of Calcutta, and the Ganges-river flows in the direction of Bangladesh. At Bangladesh the Ganges-river merges with the great Brahmaputra-river and the Meghna-river after which it divides into a great number of channels. All of these channels eventually flow out in the Bay of Bengal. The Ganges-river basin is shown in figure 1.
The riverbasin of the Ganges river
Apart from the usual functions as drinking water, industrial water, navigation, fishing, etc the Ganges-river also has a very important religious function. For the Hindustani the river is the holiest river on earth, and they hold annual bathing festivals at the Ganges-river to wash their sins away. It is also a custom that when a Hindustani dies he will be cremated the ashes are scattered in the Ganges-river for purification of the soul. Furthermore the Ganges-water is used as irrigation water in the agriculture and for the generation of electric power. The river is also used as a dumping site for urban- and industrial wastewater.
The Ganges-river is a heavily polluted river, the major causes of this pollution are:
- Discharge of wastewater from urban areas;
- Dumping of garbage along the riverside;
- Discharge of chemical and industrial wastewater;
- Dumping of carcasses (dead cows) and half- and un-burned human remains;
- Flow off of pesticides and insecticides from the farming lands near the river;
In February 1985 the “Central Ganga Authority (CGA)” was founded to fight the pollution in the Ganges-river. The goal of the CGA is to improve the water quality of the Ganges-river (included the rivers that flow out in it) to acceptable standards. To accomplish this the CGA will join forces with other organizations such as local governments, civil organizations and NGO’s.
An agreement for cooperation was signed between India and France at 9-6-1985, in this agreement the French promise to help India find a solution for the pollution problem. This cooperation resulted in the “Ganga Action Plan (GAP)”. The goal of the GAP is to reduce the pollution in the Ganges-river by at least 75%.
Since the GAP was introduced, the water quality has improved considerable, but there isn’t enough money to make the GAP work properly. A number of the wastewater treatment plants, for example, don’t have a constant supply of electric power (because there is a lack of funds) and as a result of that they are forced to discharge untreated wastewater into the Ganges-river.
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