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The Ganges River: A Lifeline for Millions in Asia

The Ganges, also known as the Ganga in India and the Padma in Bangladesh, is a trans-boundary river that flows through India and Bangladesh.
It is the second largest river on earth by discharge and rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
The Ganges flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow.
The river is home to approximately 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians, and also reptiles and mammals, including critically endangered species such as the gharial and South Asian river dolphin.
The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus and is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism.
The river is threatened by severe pollution, with levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste more than a hundred times the Indian government's official limit near Varanasi.
The Ganges Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been considered a failure due to corruption, a lack of will in the government, poor technical expertise, poor environmental planning, and a lack of support from religious authorities.
The main stem of the Ganges begins at the town of Devprayag, at the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi.
The Ganges is a lifeline to millions of people who live in its basin and depend on it for their daily needs. Many former provincial or imperial capitals such as Pataliputra, Delhi, and Kolkata are located on its banks or the banks of tributaries and connected waterways.
The Ganges river follows a 900 km arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur before joining the Yamuna River at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj.
Along the way, it is joined by several major tributaries, including the Ghaghara River, the Gandaki River, and the Kosi River.
After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the Padma, which is joined by the Jamuna River and the Meghna River.
The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about 64,000 km2.The Ganges River: Key Facts and Significance
The Ganges River is part of the Brahmaputra-Meghna drainage basins, covering a total of about 1,600,000 km2 across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and China.
The Ganges basin ranges from the Himalaya and the Transhimalaya in the north to the Sunderbans delta in the east, and contains 9 of the 14 highest peaks in the world.
The average discharge of the Ganges is about 16,650 m3/s, while combined with the Brahmaputra and Meghna it is about 42,470 m3/s.
The hydrologic cycle in the Ganges basin is governed by the Southwest Monsoon, with 84% of total rainfall occurring in the monsoon season from June to September.
The Ganges Delta has a complicated network of channels, with the Ganges and Brahmaputra both splitting into distributary channels, which have changed course over time.
The Farakka Barrage dispute arose in 1951 between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) over water sharing, and a treaty was signed in 1996 to address the issue.
The Ganges is a sacred river to Hindus, who bathe in its waters, offer flowers and rose petals, and carry small quantities of water home for use in rituals.
The Ganges is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology, and is invoked whenever water is used in Hindu ritual.
The karunasiri, or rise of the Ganges from earth to heaven, is celebrated in late May or early June every year, with a dip in the Ganges on this day said to rid the bather of ten sins.
The Ganges has several versions of the avatarana, or descent of the river from heaven to earth, with the most widely known involving King Bhagiratha and Shiva in his abode on Mount Kailash.
The Ganges is a symbol of India's culture and civilization, and its importance is agreed upon by Hindus, including Jawaharlal Nehru, who asked for his ashes to be thrown into the river.
The Ganges is highly seasonal, with a strong dry season to monsoon discharge ratio of about 1:6, causing both drought and floods in the region, particularly in Bangladesh.The Significance of the Ganges in Hindu Mythology
The Ganges is a sacred river in Hindu mythology, believed to have descended from heaven to earth.
The avatarana, or descent, of the Ganges is a pivotal event in Hindu mythology and is celebrated in Hindu rituals and ceremonies.
The Ganges is considered both the vehicle of ascent and descent, and is a crossing point of all beings, living and dead.
Hindus believe that dying in Varanasi and being cremated on the banks of the Ganges brings instant salvation, and immersing ashes in the Ganges can also achieve salvation.
The Ganges is believed to be purifying and capable of wiping away the sins of a lifetime through its symbolic power.
The Ganges is a consort to all three major male deities in Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.
Shiva's relationship with Ganga, the Ganges, is the best-known in Ganges mythology and is depicted in Hindu iconography as Gangadhara.
The Ganges is a mother to other gods and is considered the distilled lifeblood of the Hindu tradition, holy books, and enlightenment.
The Ganges has a rich iconography, with statues and reliefs of the goddess carved at the entrances of Hindu temples all over India.
The makara, a crocodile-like undersea monster, is a symbol associated with the Ganges and is also her vahana, or mount.
The purna kumbha, a full pot of water, is another discernible element of the Ganges iconography, emblematic of the formless Brahman, woman, the womb, and birth.
Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage in which Hindus gather at the Ganges River to participate in ritual bathing, religious discussions, devotional singing, and mass feeding of holy men and women and the poor.The Ganges River: History, Religion, Economy, and Environment
Kumbh Mela is the most sacred pilgrimage in India and attracts thousands of holy men and women, many of whom are sadhus dressed in saffron sheets.
The Ganges water is considered holy and is believed to be transformed into Ganga water if chanted with "Om" and prayed to Lord Narayan.
The Ganges and its tributaries have been used for irrigation since ancient times and have a vast hydroelectric potential.
Canals were present in the Gangetic plain since the 3rd century BCE and were used for irrigation and transportation.
The Ganges Canal was the first British canal built in India between 1842 and 1854 and required a total capital outlay of £2.15 million.
The Farakka barrage, built in 1975, feeds the Hooghly branch of the river and is a source of dispute between India and Bangladesh.
The Ganges Basin is crucial to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh, providing a perennial source of irrigation for crops like rice, sugarcane, and wheat.
The river is polluted due to industrialization and urbanization, with tanning industries being a major contributor to the pollution.
Three towns holy to Hinduism, Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayagraj), and Varanasi, attract millions of pilgrims to its waters for a dip, believing it cleanses them of sins and helps attain salvation.
The Ganges Basin was once home to a diverse range of wildlife, including tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros, but has been severely degraded by human development.
Over 350 fish species live in the entire Ganges drainage, with Cyprinidae being the most diverse family throughout the basin.
Major fisheries in the Ganges Basin have declined in recent decades due to overfishing, pollution, water abstraction, siltation, and invasive species.