Transcript File

• The Ganges river, also
called "Mother Ganga"
has been worshiped in
India for more than 2000
years as the symbol of
spiritual purity. And
though spiritual purity has
remained untouched for
more than two centuries,
her physical purity has
deteriorated as this holy
river suffers from severe
pollution.
• According to different
scientific studies
pollution is taking a
heavy toll on Ganges
river and 300 million
gallons of waste go
into the Ganges each
day, causing terrible
effects.
• The amount of domestic
sewage being dumped into
the Ganges has more than
doubled since the 1990's,
and some studies suggest
it could double again in a
next generation. Scientists
also found that portions of
the river have a fecal
bacteria count nearly 4,000
times the World Health
Organization's standard for
bathing and recent water
samples collected revealed
even worse results with a
fecal bacteria count 10,000
times higher than the WHO
standard for safe river
bathing.
•
So what is the source
of this tremendous
pollution? Majority of
Ganges pollution
comes from organic
waste such as
sewage, trash, food,
and human as well as
animal remains
• India's population
boom hasn’t been
followed with
appropriate wastecontrol infrastructure,
and there hasn't been
much effort on
building new sewage
systems that should
do more than just
channel waste into
the river like current
sewage systems do.
• Human and animal remains
also pose serious
environmental and health
threats. The Hindu religion
has a sacred practice of
depositing human remains
into the Ganges river, and
since these remains are
usually only partially
cremated they pose not
only environmental, but
also serious health threats
to the local population,
especially when combined
with the carcasses of
thousands of dead cattle
that are also dumped into
the river each year.
• Industrial pollutants
luckily account for
much smaller
proportion of
pollution, and this is
the good thing since
the health and
environmental
impacts of toxic
chemical waste can
be far more
threatening.
• This level of pollution
makes ideal ground for
many water-borne
diseases including cholera,
hepatitis, typhoid and
amoebic dysentery that are
spreading among the 350
million who live along its
shores or use its water.
According to some
estimations 80% of all
health problems and onethird of deaths in India are
result of different waterborne diseases.
• In 1985 the Indian government launched plan to
clean up the river, the so called "Ganges Action
Plan". The original idea was to clean up the river
in selected areas by installing sewage treatment
plants and threatening fines and litigation
against industries that pollute. This plan turned
out to be one great failure since it tried to adapt
a Western style solution to what is turned out to
be non-adaptive region. Since then more than $
300 million have been spent with very little to
account for and even the federal environment
minister said recently that $1.5 billion more was
needed.
• The government has so far made many
promises but failed to deliver the right
results. Perhaps the best reason for
optimism could be the Supreme Court of
India since lots of things get done judicially
in India, and there are recent reports
suggesting that legislators are starting to
understand the importance of not
discharging untreated human waste into
the Ganges River which could be the first
big step required for successful fight
against pollution.
http://www.compulsivetraveler.tv/videos/408Ganges-River-Pollution