ProsackHenry-Ganges+River

= = Pollution in the Ganges River in India

The Problem
The Ganges River starts in the Himalayas and travels through India to the Bay of Bengal, emptying out in the Indian Ocean. The major environmental issue with the river is the enormous amounts of pollution that populates it, which causes a variety of health hazards for both the wildlife and human civilizations. Naturally, 400 million people live along the banks of the river.. Over 2,000,000 people ritually swim and bathe in the river daily. Several diseases are prevalent in the polluted water, which are the main concern for health of the river’s residents and the environment.

The Pollution
The pollution consists of garbage waste, sewage, human and livestock corpses, as well as several dangerous chemicals. 1.3 billion liters of sewage is dumped into the river daily. About 80% of the waste in the river is sewage, which is due to the poor sewage systems of civilizations along the Ganges River. Around 45 tanneries, 10 textile mills, and several other industrial companies dump 37 million gallons per day waste, and only have to pay a small fee to dump. There is no regulation against the dumping into the river. The pollution has severely impacted the wildlife of the river. The Ganges River used to be a provider to its shoreline inhabitants with vast quantities of fish, and they had a big fishing industry. Now, there are very few fish in the river, and species are becoming extinct. For instance, the Ganges River Dolphin is an endangered species with only 4000 of its kind remaining. The fishing industry has diminished significantly, as many fishermen have to look elsewhere for work. Religion is an important factor that has also contributed to the state in which the Ganga is in today. The river is religious to the Hindus, who believe that it’s the final cleansing of one’s life. Elder Hindus make a pilgrimage to the city of Varanasi before death, where they will be cremated on the shore by fires and placed in the river. People bring their dead ones and if they can’t afford a cremation, place their loved one’s corpse in the water. It is common to see dead human bodies and livestock floating downstream.

Health Risks
There are several health issues that rise from the constant pollution of the river. The coliform count is a test of the water contamination of how many coliform bacteria colonies there are per 100 ml of water. The safe amount for drinking water is under 50 (0 in most cases), and under 200 for a swimming pool. The World Health Organization states that it shouldn’t be more than 500. In some places along the Ganges River, the coliform count is 3,000 times the safe amount. This gives rise to multiple waterborne diseases such as hepatitis, dysentery, and cholera. The last two are intestinal diseases if not treated can be fatal. The leather and textile companies that dump into the river introduce hazardous chemicals such as chromium. E. coli is prevalent in the river as well, which is a contributing factor to the waterborne diseases. Humans drink and bathe in this water, and will continue to do so.

Solutions: Neglect, Attempts, and Proposed
Only in recent history has the problem of the Ganges River been addressed. The governments generally turn the other way when confronted with the pollution problem, mainly due to the companies’ importance. However, in 1985, the Indian Government introduced the Ganga Action Plan (GAP). The interest groups that were involved with this project were the Indian government, with the help of both British and Dutch governments as well as volunteer groups. They set up Sewage Treatment Plants to clean up the river. The plan was to intercept 2794 million liters per day waste and purify it. The Indian government wanted to get the river to be bathing safe. The issue with the plan was that only around 110 towns along the river were to participate. Of these towns, only a few benefited greatly from it. In total, there are 5044 million liters per day of waste dumped into the river. Another main issue was economic. Maintaining the Ganga Action Plan was extremely expensive, 53 million dollars for its first phase. GAP could not solve the issue, but made some great progress. Other river action plans have been modeled off of the Ganga Action Plan, such as the Yamuna Action Plan, which has a lot more support considering both Indian and Japan governments. Interest groups have been advocating the cleanup of the river internationally, which will eventually cause necessary action to stop or limit the pollution. Vaer Bhadra Mishra, a civil engineer, priest, and elected along with six others as a Hero of the Planet by Time Magazine, has proposed a new innovative way to solve the problem. It’s called the integrated wastewater oxidation pond system. Using water pumps, waste will be extracted and stored for 45 days where it will be purified by using bacteria and algae. A better sewage system would greatly improve the waste problem, so human waste would not have to be carelessly dumped into the water. The major thing that we should focus on is awareness. The more aware the world is of the situation of the Ganges River, the more likely the actions taken to eliminate it will succeed.