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Ganges River

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of Asia

                    Ganges (Ganga)
   Map of the Ganges River Basin

                        Map of the Ganges River Basin

   Origin           Gangotri Glacier
   Mouth            Bay of Bengal
   Basin countries  India, Bangladesh
   Length           2,510 km (1,560 mi)
   Source elevation 7,756 m (25,450 feet)
   Avg. discharge   14,270 m³/s (275,496 ft³/s)
   Basin area       907,000 km² (354,300 mi²)

   The Ganges River (English: /ˈgænʤiz/; Gangā /ˈgəŋgaː/ in most Indian
   languages) ( Devanagari गंगा) is a river of northern India and
   Bangladesh. The river has a long history of reverence in India and is
   worshipped by Hindus as a goddess. It is often called the 'holy Ganga'
   or 'Ganga ma' (mother Ganga).

   The total length of the river is about 2,510 km (1,557 mi). Along with
   another river Yamuna, it forms a large and fertile basin, known as the
   Gangetic plains, stretching across north India and Bangladesh, and
   supports one of the highest densities of human population in the world.
   Indeed, about one in every 12 people on earth (8.5% of world
   population) live in its catchment area. Due to this incredible
   concentration of population, pollution and the destruction of habitats
   are matters of serious concern.

Geography

   The Gangotri Glacier in the Uttaranchal Himalayas is the origin of the
   Bhagirathi river, which joins the Alaknanda river at Devaprayag, also
   in the Uttaranchal Himalayas, to form the Ganga. The river then flows
   through the Himalayan valleys and emerges into the north Indian plain
   at the town of Haridwar. This section sees extensive whitewater rafting
   and kayaking from September to March.
   Ganges river delta, Bangladesh and India
   Enlarge
   Ganges river delta, Bangladesh and India

   The Ganga then flows across the broad plains of north India (called the
   Gangetic Plains) and forms the major river basin of that vast region.
   Its tributaries include the Kosi, the Gomti, the Sone, and above all,
   the Yamuna. The Yamuna River — a major river in its own right, and
   nearly as endowed with the sanctity of religious tradition and legend
   as the Ganga, is in fact a tributary of the Ganga; their confluence
   marks the site of the pilgrim town of Prayag, now known as Allahabad.
   Not only sites of religious significance, but also many of the most
   populous industrial cities of northern India, lie on the banks of the
   Ganga, including Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna.
   Early morning on the Ganges at the city of Varanasi
   Enlarge
   Early morning on the Ganges at the city of Varanasi

   Swollen by the waters of a wide basin that draws from watersheds as
   diverse as the Himalayas and the Aravallis, the Ganga forms a
   formidable current in the stretch between Allahabad and Malda, and
   thereafter, a large delta. Near the town of Malda in West Bengal, it
   undergoes its first attrition with the branching away of the Hoogly,
   its first distributary. The city of Kolkata (previously Calcutta)
   stands on the banks of the Hoogly. The main stream of the river (known
   as the Padma River) then enters Bangladesh. Here, it unites with the
   Jamuna branch of the even larger Brahmaputra river. The combined stream
   then joins with the Meghna River before flowing out to sea. In the flat
   plains of Bangladesh, the Ganges splits almost immediately into a dense
   network of distributaries, all of which finally empty into the Bay of
   Bengal.

   The region encompassing the delta near the Bay of Bengal coast is known
   as The Sundarbans (Beautiful Forests) — a region of thick mangrove
   forests and one of the major habitats of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Two
   species of dolphin can be found in the Ganges, the Ganges River Dolphin
   and the Irrawaddy Dolphin. The Ganges is also notable in that it
   contains a rare species of freshwater shark, Glyphis gangeticus, about
   which little is known.

The Ganga in Hinduism

   In Hinduism, the river Ganga (feminine) is sacred. It is worshipped by
   Hindus and personified as a goddess, who holds an important place in
   the Hindu religion. Hindu belief holds that bathing in the river on
   certain occasions causes the forgiveness of sins and helps attain
   salvation. Many people believe that this will come from bathing in
   Ganga at any time. People travel from distant places to immerse the
   ashes of their kin in the waters of the Ganga; this immersion also is
   believed to send the ashes to heaven. Several places sacred to Hindus
   lie along the banks of the river Ganga, including Haridwar and Kashi.
   People carry sacred water from the Ganges that is sealed in copper pots
   after making the pilgrimage to Kashi. 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.

   In most Hindu families, a vial of water from the Ganga is kept in every
   house. This is done because it is auspicious to have water of the Holy
   Ganga in the house, and also if someone is dying, that person will be
   able to drink its water.

   Many Hindus believe that the water from the Ganga can cleanse a
   person's soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. The
   ancient scriptures mention that the water of Ganges carries the
   blessings of the Lord's feet. Hence mother Ganges is also known as
   Visnupadi [Emanating from the Lotus feet of Supreme Lord Sri Visnu].

   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.
   The largest religious gathering on Earth for Hindu peoples. [1][2]
   Around 70 million Hindus from around the world participated in Kumbh
   Mela at the Hindu Holy city Prayaga (also known as Allahabad) (India).
   Enlarge
   The largest religious gathering on Earth for Hindu peoples. Around 70
   million Hindus from around the world participated in Kumbh Mela at the
   Hindu Holy city Prayaga (also known as Allahabad) (India).

   The most important city sacred to Hinduism on the banks of the River
   Ganga is Varanasi or Banaras. It has hundreds of temples along the
   banks of the Ganga which often get flooded during the rains. This city,
   especially along the banks of the Ganga, is an important place of
   worship for the Hindus as well as a cremation ground.

Ganga in Vedas

   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.

River Ganges in Western culture

   The river-god Ganges as visualised by Bernini
   Enlarge
   The river-god Ganges as visualised by Bernini

   In Rome's Piazza Navona, there is a famous sculpture Fontana dei
   Quattro Fiumi (fountain of the four rivers), a marvelous sculptural and
   architectural creation by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, set up in 1651. It
   symbolises four of the world's great rivers (the Ganges, the Nile, the
   Danube and the Plata), representing the four continents known at the
   time. The picture alongside shows River Ganges as visualised by
   Bernini.

Pollution

   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. While proposals have been made for remediating this
   condition so far no great progress has been achieved.
   People performing Hindu ceremony in Varanasi.
   Enlarge
   People performing Hindu ceremony in Varanasi.

   The major polluting industries on the Ganges are the leather
   industries, especially near Kanpur, which use large amounts of chromium
   and other chemicals, and much of it finds its way into the meager flow
   of the Ganga. Unfortunately, this is a boom time for leather processing
   in India, which many view as a form of eco-environmental dumping on the
   third world, and with the lax and lubricable implementation systems of
   the Uttar Pradesh government, it does not seem likely that this will go
   down. The World Bank report of 1992, which focused on the environmental
   issues, mentions the dissolved-oxygen and the river-borne decomposing
   material at two focal points on the Ganga.

   However, industry is not the only source of pollution. The sheer volume
   of waste — estimated at nearly 1 billion litres per day - of mostly
   untreated raw sewage — is a significant factor. Also, inadequate
   cremation procedures contributes to a large number of partially burnt
   or unburnt corpses floating down the Ganga, in addition to livestock
   corpses.

   The Ganga Action Plan has been set up under the Indian Government
   bureaucracy and is attempting to build a number of waste treatment
   facilities, under Dutch and British support, and to collaborate with a
   number of voluntary organizations. Surprisingly, the Hindu political
   parties in India are not very active in the efforts to clean up the
   Ganga, and it is not very high on the general religious agenda. India's
   government has already spent over $33 million to address the
   overwhelming sewage problem. However, things are looking better at the
   beginning of 2006, as satellite images show increased water clarity in
   the river.

Ganges Canal

   The Ganges Canal was dug from Haridwar to Kanpur in the latter half of
   the 19th century, and a very wide network of small tributary canals
   were constructed from the main canal to act as source of irrigation in
   the fertile plains of Western Uttar Pradesh. The University of Roorkee
   was established at Roorkee to train Civil Engineers who could oversee
   the construction of this canal. This canal is still supplying water to
   thousands of villages in western Uttar Pradesh, and the water of Ganga,
   flowing in this canal, is in a true sense the life line of western
   Uttar Pradesh, an area which played a central role in the Green
   revolution of India, and played a vital role in this endeavor.

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