The Ganges:- Pollution And Ways To Conservation

Abstract

There is a universal reverence to water in almost all of the major religions of the world. Most religious beliefs involve some ceremonial use of “holy” water. The purity of such water, the belief in its known historical and unknown mythological origins, and the inaccessibility of remote sources, elevates its importance even further. In India, the water of the river Ganges (The name "Ganges", ending in "-es", came to English via Latin from Ancient Greek sources, particularly from accounts of Alexander the Great's wars, which entered India ) is treated with such reverences. It provides water to about 40% of India’s population across 11 states, serving an estimated population of 500 million people or more which is a larger than any other river in the world. Today, it is considered to be the fifth most polluted river in the world. Central Pollution Board has a network of 57 water quality monitoring stations on river Ganges and monitoring 9 core parameters regularly. A number of initiatives have been undertaken to clean the river but failed to deliver desired result. After getting elected, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed to work for cleaning the river and controlling pollution. Subsequently, Namami Ganga Project was announced by the government in July 2014 budget.