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Essay On River Ganga – 10 Lines, Short and Long Essay For Kids

Key Points To Remember When Writing Essay On River Ganga For Lower Primary Classes

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River Ganga is one of the holiest rivers in India as its water is believed to purify people of their sins. The Ganga originates from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and travels down to the plains, where it merges with the Bay of Bengal. The river is one of the primary rivers in the country every child is taught about, and compositions on the topic are often assigned in schools for children to learn its importance and also the nuances of writing. In this article, we’ve provided sample essays on the topic for classes 1, 2, and 3 with useful information, including its origin, history, and mythology, that can help your child draft their own essay.

Writing an essay on the Ganga river is like taking a deep dive into India’s culture. Here are some key points to note when writing an essay on the river Ganga:

• Start with an introduction paragraph and mention where the Ganga river originates.
• Ganga river’s spiritual, cultural, and religious significance must be covered in the essay.
• Ganga river is a major source of livelihood in our country. Elaborate on the point, and include its uses in agriculture, drinking, fishing etc.
• Finally, end with a conclusion paragraph and wrap up by talking about its pollution level and what initiatives are being done by the people to help clean it up.

The Ganga river is considered a goddess and giver of life. It is easy to write a few lines on the river Ganga when one knows its significance. Here are 10 lines in an essay for classes 1 & 2 on the topic.

• River Ganga is sacred, and its waters come from Uttarakhand, Gangotri.
• When the two tributaries of Bhagarati and Alaknanda join at Devprayag, that is where mainstream Ganga begins.
• Ganga joins the Brahmaputra river in Bangladesh.
• Many believe that the water of Ganga is pure and to be revered.
• According to mythology, the deceased cremated near Ganga ghat get salvation instantly.
• Ganga’s plains are one of the most fertile in the world.
• Human activities around the river have resulted in the pollution of the river.
• The Indian Government has launched Namami Gange, an initiative to clean up River Ganga and conserve it.
• Ganga Aarti is a famous event during religious festivals.
• The Ganga is considered the national river of India.

The Ganga has a special place in the hearts of Indians, and for the right reasons. Its waters are used for religious reasons, and some bathe in them for healing. Here is a short paragraph on the river:

The Ganga river is the most famous in India, and people worldwide visit the country to get a glimpse of it. The Ganga is hailed as a holy river and has cultural significance also. It is a major source of livelihood in our country, as it is used in agriculture, drinking, fishing, etc.   It was once considered a source of pure water and is believed to open the door to nirvana. But, locals have been dumping waste and polluting it. To control the pollution levels of the river, the Indian Government has launched Namami Gange, an initiative to clean up the Ganges and conserve it. Locals can also do their bit by controlling their activities around the river and stop dumping waste in the water so that the river can remain clean and we can reap maximum benefits from it. 

You can write an essay in 150 to 200 words on the Ganga river, elaborating its importance in the country. Here is a short sample essay for classes 1, 2, and 3:

The Ganga represents the essence of Indian culture. The river is worshipped in India. Several legends are associated with the river. It is also known by the names Jahnvi and Bhagirathi. It is said that Shiva holds River Ganga in his matted hair, and the earliest mentions of her can be found in the Rigveda. The Ganga river also appears in many epics such as the Puranas, Mahabharata, and Ramayana. People call the river Ganga Maa as she is believed to have healing and spiritual powers. Many immerse the ashes of their deceased loved ones in this river for salvation. Having said that, the water from the river is used for irrigation, fishing, etc., which are the major sources of livelihood for the people dwelling around the river. However, the river has been under the scanner for some time as its level of pollution is rising. Ganga is considered the second most polluted river in India and is in dire need of a clean-up. The Indian Government has launched Namami Gange, an initiative to clean up the river and conserve it. But we can also contribute towards the holy Ganges by not dumping excessive waste in the water and responsibly cleaning up after ourselves when in the vicinity.

The Ganga river provides livelihood to the people of India and has great spiritual importance, too. Children can understand this better when they read and research the topic before writing their essays. Here’s a long essay for class 3 that your child can refer to when creating their composition:

River Ganga is one of the holiest rivers in India, and it is believed to bring souls closer to moksha and liberate souls from the cycle of birth and death. The Ganga Jayanti and Ganga Dussehra are two popular festivals celebrated in India. Unfortunately, the Ganga is one of the most polluted rivers in the country, despite being the longest river in the country.

Ganga is also known for its healing powers. It is said that those who have sinned can find salvation here. The Ganga runs through different regions such as Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, New Delhi, and West Bengal. River Ganga is home to various species of aquatic wildlife. Ganga river is a significant source of livelihood in our country, as it is used in agriculture, drinking, fishing, etc. Thus it is more so important to save the river and ensure it stays clean.

Origin and Significance of Ganga River

The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda streams, which converge in the Indian town of Devprayag in the Garhwal area, are thought to have been the source of the Ganges. Mythology holds that the Gangotri glacier, which is located in Gomukh, is where the river Ganga originated. In terms of significance, the Ganga symbolises hope, peace, culture, faith, and life for millions of people in India for decades. Its water is used for irrigation in agriculture, and the river also aids the fishing business. The land near Ganga is the most fertile and is useful for the agricultural produce India is well known for.

What Are The Important Tributaries of River Ganga?

The important tributaries of River Ganga are:

• Burhi Gandak

Why The Rising Pollution Of River Ganga Has Become A Critical Issue

Rising pollution of the river Ganga is becoming a critical issue because it impacts the river and our overall environment. Some of the reasons for the rising levels of pollution are – the disposal of human sewage, industrial waste and animal waste in its water. Increasing population is another factor. People living near the ghats of River Ganga are affected by illness due to water-borne infections due to the increased pollution levels of the river.

Initiatives For Cleaning Ganga River

The Namami Gange Programme and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) are the latest initiatives conducted by India, designed to help clean up the river. The programmes talk about biodiversity conservation, afforestation, and water quality monitoring. By giving the states financial support, the government of India is assisting the state government’s efforts to combat pollution of the river. The Namami Gange Programme aims to clean the Ganges through thoughtful and well-coordinated actions.

Your child will learn a lot by reading these sample essays on Ganga, and understand the river’s connection to India’s culture and economy. Your child will also polish their art of essay writing along the way.

The Ganga River has existed since time immemorial and is a holy river that will stay close to our hearts. Hopefully, this article will give significant pointers to your child to draft their own composition. They can also research more and add more information as needed.

Also Read: Essay On Importance of Water for Kids Water Pollution Essay for Lower Primary Classes How to Write An Essay On Nature for Class 1, 2 and 3

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Essay On River Ganga

Table of Contents

Short Essay On River Ganga

The River Ganga, also known as the Ganges, is one of the most important and revered rivers in India. It is considered to be a symbol of spiritual and cultural significance for the people of India and is worshipped as a goddess by millions of Hindus.

The River Ganga originates from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas and flows over 2,500 km through northern India and Bangladesh, before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river is considered to be the lifeline of northern India, as it supports the lives and livelihoods of millions of people who live along its banks.

In addition to its cultural and spiritual significance, the River Ganga also plays a crucial role in the economic and environmental health of the region. The river provides water for agriculture, hydropower, and drinking water for hundreds of millions of people. The Ganges Delta is one of the most fertile and productive agricultural regions in the world and is home to a rich diversity of flora and fauna.

Despite its importance, the River Ganga is facing a number of environmental challenges. The rapid industrialization and urbanization of the region have led to increased pollution levels in the river, which has had serious impacts on the health of the river and the people who depend on it. The river is also facing problems from over-extraction of water, which is reducing its flow and affecting the health of the delta.

To address these challenges, there have been a number of efforts to clean and restore the River Ganga. The government of India has launched the National River Conservation Plan, which aims to clean the river and improve its ecological health. There have also been efforts by NGOs and local communities to reduce pollution and protect the river, through initiatives such as cleaning up waste, planting trees along the riverbank, and promoting sustainable development practices.

In conclusion, the River Ganga is a vital and important part of India’s cultural, economic, and environmental heritage. Despite the challenges it faces, there is hope that with collective action, the river can be protected and restored for future generations. By working together to protect this precious resource, we can ensure that the River Ganga remains a source of life and inspiration for generations to come.

Long Essay On River Ganga

The River Ganga is one of the most sacred rivers in India. It has a long and glorious history and is widely popular for its religious significance. The river is also famous for its natural beauty, which has made it a popular tourist destination. In this essay, we will explore the religious significance of the River Ganga and its place in Indian history.

What is River Ganga?

The River Ganga is one of the longest and most important rivers in India. It originates in the Himalayas and flows through north-eastern India before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river has a circumference of 2,145 kilometers, making it the world’s sixth-longest river. The Ganga is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world and its water is heavily contaminated with toxins from human activity. However, despite these challenges, the Ganga continues to be an important part of Indian culture and heritage.

Origin of River Ganga

The River Ganga originates in the southern slopes of the Himalayas. It flows through India for a thousand kilometres before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river has a major religious and cultural significance to millions of people in India and Bangladesh. The river is also an important source of irrigation for crops and hydroelectric power generation. The name Ganga comes from the Sanskrit word “gandha” meaning “a kind of fragrant oil”. The original source of the river was a spring in the Himalayas. Over time, the river’s course shifted and it now flows through India and Bangladesh. The Ganga is one of the longest rivers in India. It is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The river has a major religious and cultural significance to millions of people in India and Bangladesh. The river is also an important source of irrigation for crops and hydroelectric power generation.

Physical Features of River Ganga

The River Ganga is one of the most sacred rivers in India. It originates in the Himalayas, flows through Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river has a total length of 2,525 km and drains an area of 1,eth2 km2.

The River Ganga is a seasonal river and its flow decreases during the monsoon season. The average discharge is 80 million cubic metres per day (MCM). The main tributaries are the Bhagirathi, Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna and Chambal. The river has a very low discharge during winter when snow melts in the mountains and groundwater seeps into the channels. During summer, however, discharge increases as water evaporates from lakes and ponds in Gangetic plains.

The fertile alluvial soil along the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries forms many large cities such as Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur. These cities were once located at various points on the banks of other rivers but were gradually moved to their present locations because of the favourable physical features offered by these stretches of land on either side of Ganga.

Religious Significance of River Ganga

The River Ganga, also known as the Gangetic River, is a trans-boundary river that originates in the Himalayas in northern India and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The Ganga’s religious significance dates back over 3,500 years to the time of the Vedic period when it was believed to be a source of divine purification. The Ganga is now widely considered to be one of the most sacred rivers in Hinduism and is central to several important religious ceremonies and rituals.

The Ganges Delta is home to around 100 million people who rely on its waterways for drinking, irrigation, energy production, and transportation. The Ganges Delta contributes around 20% of India’s GDP and supports more than 25% of India’s population. Several large cities – including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Bangalore – are situated on or near the banks of the Ganges River.

The river has been responsible for significant environmental damage over the years due to improper sewage disposal and industrial pollution. However, recent initiatives by various governments have led to improved conditions along parts of the riverbanks.

Cultural Significance of River Ganga

The river Ganga is one of the most venerated and important rivers in Hinduism. It is also revered by Buddhists, Jains, and Muslims. The Ganges Basin is one of the most densely populated regions on earth, with over 1 billion people living within its watershed. The river has a profound cultural significance for these diverse groups of people.

The Hindus regard the Ganges as the goddess Gaṇeśa’s earthly abode. They believe that she bathes in her own divine light every night at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The devout visit this spot to offer prayers and drink holy water from the river.

The river also plays an important role in religious ceremonies for both Hindus and Muslims. For example, during Muharram, or the month of mourning commemorating Prophet Muhammad’s death, Muslims gather at Ghaziabad to cleanse themselves before they make their way to Mecca to perform Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). Similarly, Hindus take a sacred dip in the river before worshipping Krishna at his birthplace in Vrindavan during Navratri (the nine nights leading up to Durga Puja).

The spiritual significance of the Ganges doesn’t end with religion. Many poets have written about its beauty and power. For example, Rabindranath Tagore wrote “Ganga Mahakali” about a girl who dies drinking from the river:

Ecological Importance of River Ganga

The River Ganga is one of the most important rivers in India. The river originates from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas and flows through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river has a length of 2,525 miles (4,090 km) and a drainage area of 21,500 square miles (54,000 km2). The Ganges is a major source of water for millions people in eastern India and Bangladesh.

The Ganges is significant for its ecological importance. It is one of the longest and largest rivers in Asia and supports a large variety of aquatic life. The tidal range on the Ganges is high which helps to maintain fresh water fish populations while preventing salt water fish from entering the river. The river also serves as a natural filter for removing pollutants from local waterways.

The Ganges has been an important religious site for Hindus for centuries. It is said that Lord Ram donated parts of his hair to flow down the river towards Kashi Vishwanath Temple where it continues to be worshipped today. The temple is one of India’s most popular tourist destinations and receives millions of visitors every year.

Water Quality of River Ganga

The River Ganga is considered one of the most sacred rivers in India. It originates in the Himalayas and flows through northern India before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The river is home to a variety of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

The water quality of the Ganga has been a matter of concern for years. In recent years, there have been reports of pollution and degradation of the river’s environment. Poor water quality has caused an increase in respiratory problems, skin diseases, gastroenteritis and other illnesses.

One major cause of the water quality problems is industrialization along the banks of the river. Many factories discharge their wastewater intoriver Ganga untreated or with minimal treatment. This pollution results in high levels of dissolved solids, toxic metals and nutrients such as phosphates which can kill aquatic life and disturb the delicate balance of oxygen levels in the water.

Several measures have been taken to improve water quality along the Ganga. governments have set up sewage treatment plants and introduced effluent restrictions to reduce pollution from industry. Community-based organizations also work to educate people about proper waste disposal methods and help them adopt safer habits .

Impact of Industrial Development on River Ganga

The impact of industrial development on River Ganga has been a controversial topic for many years. The river is revered as a holy entity in Hinduism, and many people feel that any kind of industrialization should not take place near the river. There are several reasons why people are concerned about the impact of industrialization on the river.

One reason is that the river is a vital source of water for millions of people living in the Gangetic plains. Any pollution from industry could severely damage the water supply, leading to widespread unemployment and poverty. Additionally, industrial development can also cause emissions that harm human health. In particular, factories that produce heavy metals and other pollutants can release harmful chemicals into the air, which can then be breathed in by people living nearby.

Another issue with industrial development near the river is aesthetic considerations. Many people view the river as an important cultural icon and want to protect it from any damage or destruction. Industry can also contribute to increased traffic congestion and air pollution, both of which can have a negative impact on the cityscape around the river.

In spite of these concerns, there are some proponents of industrial development near River Ganga who believe that it can be done responsibly and without damaging the environment. They point out that modern technologies can be used to minimize environmental impacts, and that there are alternative sources of water if industry does pollute the river.

Manisha Dubey Jha is a skilled educational content writer with 5 years of experience. Specializing in essays and paragraphs, she’s dedicated to crafting engaging and informative content that enriches learning experiences.

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Essay on River Ganga

River Ganga is the most important and the longest river in India. The facts about River Ganga are greatly studied by people in different regions of the world because of its great spiritual and cultural significance. Moreover, people from different parts of India and the world come to take a glimpse of this famous river. This great river has been serving the people of India, Bangladesh, and Nepal from years. The tales of River Ganga has been mentioned in our Vedas that give evidence of the presence of this river from years on this earth.

Short and Long Essay on River Ganga in English

The topic ‘river Ganga is very important as well as interesting for all the students, exam aspirants and readers. Students often get this topic to write an essay, paragraph, assignment, project, etc. Moreover, many questions related to this topic are asked in the competitive examinations. In the same reference, I have provided a long elaborated essay on the topic of River Ganga. I hope that this essay will be useful for all the readers, students and exam aspirants in getting a brief knowledge regarding the river Ganga and this will also provide you all with an idea of presenting your views on this topic.

10 Lines Essay on Ganga (100 – 150 Words)

1) Ganga is a famous sacred river that flows in several parts of India.

2) It is the longest river in India known for its religious importance.

3) The main streams of the river Ganga are Alaknanda and Bhagirathi.

4) Ganga flows in different states of India like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Patna, and West Bengal.

5) After flowing in India, it enters Bangladesh as the Padma.

6) In India, Ganga is positioned as a goddess and referred to as “Ganga Maa”.

7) Many people believe that bathing in this river can wash all your sins.

8) A huge population is dependent on this river for their basic water requirement.

9) Ganga river is now severely polluted.

10) Ganga Action Plan, Namami Gange, etc are campaigns to clean Ganga, enforced by the government of India.

Short Essay on River Ganga (200 – 250 Words)

Ganga is a sacred river that flows in India with its religious importance. People from different parts of the world come to take bath in this river because of its holy significance. Another reason for its popularity is pollution. The government has taken several steps to clean this river but still Ganga is considered the second most polluted river in India. India considers Ganga as Goddess and worships her by referring as “Ganga Maa”. People use water from this river (Ganga Jal) for religious purposes. After death, many people believe to cremate ashes in this river for salvation.

Ganga is the home of several aquatic species. It also provides fertile land for good agriculture. Moreover, it is a good source of water for irrigation as well as hydro-power generation. About half the population of the country is dependent on the river Ganga for drinking water.

Alaknanda and Bhagirathi are the two major streams that contributed to the origin of the river Ganga. These streams meet at Devprayag town in Uttarakhand. The length of this river is about 2,510 km. It is considered that Ganga originates from southeast Gangotri and flows in different parts of India. At Prayagraj, Ganga meets two other rivers Yamuna and Saraswati and hence the place is called Sangam. Ganga passes from different states of India namely, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Long Essay on The River Having Great Cultural And Religious Significance (1500 Words)

Introduction

Rivers are very important for the survival of the people in any of the nations in the world. They have been supporting and nourishing several civilizations in past as well as present. India is a blessed land that is fed by several significant rivers. River Ganga is one of the most famous and sacred rivers in India. This river has great spiritual importance in Hindus and is considered a symbol of purity. In other words, we can say that river Ganga is referred to as a precious river by Hindus. We will be discussing in detail the river Ganga and several aspects related to this river in the long essay provided below.

River Ganga- Worshipped As Goddess in Hindus

River Ganga is a significant river for the people living in India. It is because the river flows in different parts of the nation and is sustaining the life of millions of people residing near the river bed. Jahnavi, Gange, Shubhra, Sapteshwari, Nikita, Alaknanda, etc are the different names of the river Ganga but the official name of the river is Ganges. This major river is designated as the Goddess and is worshipped by the Hindus in the entire nation. River Ganga is regarded as the Goddess of purity and forgiveness. This is only the reason that people consider that bathing in the holy water of River Ganga helps in purifying an individual from all the sins. People majorly perform the ritual of bathing in the river and then taking water in their hands and then leaving back into the river. They do this in order to pay their tribute to their ancestors as well as to God.

The places like Sangam, Haridwar, and Varanasi are considered as famous pilgrimage places for taking bath in the sacred water of the Ganga River. After bathing in the holy water of River Ganga people also carry some river water in containers and that is called ‘Ganga Jal’. This water is considered auspicious and thus sprayed in every important Hindu ritual. The ashes after cremation in Hinduism are also plunged in River Ganga as this activity helps the dead ones in attaining moksha. There are many festivals like Ganga Jayanti, Ganga Dussehra and dev Deepawali celebrated to pay homage to the River Ganga. These festivals are celebrated in all the major cities that lie on the banks of the river Ganga in India. People offer prayer on these occasions by lighting diyas and offering flowers in the river water.

Appearance Of River Ganga-  A fair beautiful woman sitting on a creature called Makara as her vehicle is considered as the appearance of Goddess Ganga. There are many stories related to the river Ganga in our ancient Vedas. The tales related to River Ganga are also present in Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas. River Ganga is termed as the sister of Goddess Parvati in the great epic Ramayana whereas in the epic Mahabharata Ganga is termed as the mother of the great warrior Bhishma Pitamaha. In this way, there are several tales prevalent about River Ganga that is also called ‘Goddess Ganga’.

The Origin Of River Ganga

The river Ganga is said to have originated from the two major streams named Bhagirathi and Alaknanda that meet in the Devprayag town that lies in the Garhwal district of Uttrakhand state of India. According to Hindu mythology, the Gangotri glacier situated at Gomukh is the inception source of River Ganga. This glacier is at an elevation of 4356 meters that is also regarded as the matted locks of Lord Shiva. Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, and Bhagirathi are stated as the sacred headstreams of river Ganga. These five sacred headstreams of River Ganga meet to form Panch Prayag. Further, the meeting of headstreams Bhagirathi and Alaknanda in Devprayag gives rise to the Rives Ganges.

River Ganga receives its major water from the rain and snow and is thus called a rain and snow-fed river. The longest river of India is 2525 km in length and the area of its basin is 1,016,124 square km. The average discharge rate of river Ganga at the Ganges delta is 18,691 cubic meters per second.

The Course Of River Ganga- The great river Ganga traces its course from the mountains in Rishikesh after flowing through the narrow Himalayan valleys. The river then traces its path through the Gangetic plains and flows in the broad plain area in the holy town of Haridwar in the Uttrakhand state of India.  Further, this major river flows in different parts of northern India. The river Ganga meets with another important river Yamuna in the Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh state in India. This confluence of Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers is regarded as a sacred place in Prayagraj and given the name of ‘Sangam’. In this way, the river flows through several districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand states of India and finally becomes Hooghly River in the West Bengal state of India.

The river Ganga after tracing its major course in different Indian states lastly merges into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island. River Ganga also flows in Bangladesh that is a neighbouring country of India. This river is known by the name Padma in the country Bangladesh. The Ganges delta near the Bay of Bengal formed by the rivers namely Ganga and Brahmaputra is regarded as the largest delta in the world. The area of this world’s largest delta is 64,000 square km.

Important Tributaries Of River Ganga

River Ganga is stated as a major river flowing in India and Bangladesh countries of the world. The flow of river is not only in one single direction but it bifurcates and flows in different regions of India. There are several tributaries that form part of this major river in India. Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandaki, Kosi, rivers forms the major left-bank tributaries of the River Ganga. The important right-bank tributaries of River Ganga are Yamuna, Son, Punpun, and Damodar rivers. River Ganga forms a large drainage basin that spreads in four countries namely India, Nepal, China and Bangladesh. In India, the major river basin of the Ganga River spreads in eleven states namely Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Delhi.

River Ganga- A Gift Of Nature To The People Of India

River Ganga is very beneficial to the people of India and majorly in the regions where this great river traces its course. It is regarded as the national river of India because of the enormous benefits that it provides to the people of the nation and hence it is designated as the Goddess. The importance of River Ganga for the people of India is enlisted below:

• Ganga is a snow-fed river and thus its water persists and is available to people of the nation throughout the year. The river provides sustenance to the people living on its bank from years.
• The silt deposited by the river water forms very fertile plains that support good agriculture. Moreover, the water of River Ganga is available throughout the year and thus it serves as the best source of irrigation for the cultivation of crops. The crops that grow well in the fertile Gangetic plains are rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes and wheat. In this way, it can be stated that the fertile plains and water availability in river Ganga enhances agricultural production and thus boosts the agricultural economy in the nation.
• The river water is the best fishing grounds and this again helps in boosting the economy of the nation.
• The river water has been utilized for the installation of different hydroelectric power projects and the construction of dams, bridges and canals. This has been beneficial for the people of the nation and also useful in uplifting the economy of India.
• River Ganga is considered as a holy river in Hindus and therefore the cities and towns located on this river are the major spots for tourists. People of different parts of the nation come to take bath in the river and attain its blessings. The increase in tourism helps in boosting the economy of the nation.

The Flora And Fauna Of River Ganga Basin

The large Ganga Basin was rich in different varieties of flora and fauna but the wave of human development has totally changed the scenario. Many areas of the river basin rich in natural vegetation have been converted into agricultural lands or urban areas full with human settlement. The area along the Himalayan foothills that contribute to be one-fourth of the river basin areas rich in flora and fauna is only left with the natural habitat.

This area also includes the Rajaji National Park, Jim Corbett National Park, and Dudhwa National Parks lying in the river Ganga Basin. The flora in the region of the Ganga river basin has been distinguished and there are very small patches of forest areas left over there. The upper Gangetic plains have tropical moist deciduous forests that are having Sal species in the majority while the lower gangetic plains have open forests. Bombax ceiba, Albizzia procera, Duabanga grandiflora, Sterculia vilosa are the dominant species found in the open forests of lower gangetic plains. 

The river Ganga Basin that once inhabited different wild varieties like Asian Elephants, Bengal Tigers, Indian rhinoceros, gaurs, barasinghas, sloth bears, and Indian Lions is now left with a very small number of species at present. At present, the wild varieties in the river basin are deer, wild boars, wildcats, Indian wolves, golden jackals, and Bengal foxes. The Bengal tigers are confined are now confined only to the Sunderbans area of the Ganga delta.

The Variety Of Fishes, Birds, Reptiles, And Turtles In River Ganga Basin

There are different varieties of birds inhabiting the Ganga river basin. They are myna, parrots, crows, kites, fowls, partridges, etc. Many among them such as the great Indian bustard and lesser florican species have become the threatened species in the entire world. There are about 143 species of fish dwelling in the different sections of the Ganga River Basin. 30 species of fish among them are considered as threatened species because of the prevailing issues like pollution, overfishing, silting of water, and invasive species. Ganges Shark is regarded as a critically endangered species of fish in the river basin.

The Ganga river basin is also home to reptile species like gharial, mugger crocodile, and saltwater crocodiles.  There are different species of aquatic and semi-aquatic species of turtles found in different sections of the river basin. They are northern river terrapin, three-striped roofed turtle, Indian black turtle, red-crowned roofed turtle, black pond turtle, Brahminy river turtle, Indian eyed turtle, brown roofed turtle, Indian tent turtle, Indian flapshell turtle, Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle, Indian peacock softshell turtle, Cantor’s giant softshell turtle different species of turtles harbouring the Ganga river basin but many of them have become endangered species at present.

Ganges River Dolphin- The Most Notable Species Of River Ganga

Ganges River Dolphin is regarded as the national aquatic animal in India and it is known to reside in the freshwater of River Ganga. There was a time when this aquatic creature used to be found in larger numbers in the freshwaters of both river Ganga and Brahmaputra. The number of freshwater dolphins in the Ganga river water at present has severely decreased and become one-fourth of their previous population because of the increasing pollution and the construction of dams in the river.

Is Rising Pollution Of River Ganga A Critical Issue?

River Ganga is stated as the most sacred river of India as well as it is worshipped as a goddess by the people of India. We cannot deny by this fact that the Ganga being the most sacred river of India is also the second most polluted river of the nation. It is really very sad to state that the river that is regarded as the symbol of purity is turning into the most polluted river in the nation. The excessive dumping of waste, effluent discharges from different industries, plunging of cremation ashes, flowers, incense sticks, human wastes, etc have deteriorated the quality of the river water. The river water in some cities has become black in colour.

It is demising to see such condition of river Ganga whose water was once utilized for drinking and bathing purposes by the people. The rising pollution in River Ganga has now become an international issue rather than being a national issue. The growing Ganga river pollution results in deterioration of the quality of water that becomes harmful for several aquatic species of flora and fauna. Several cases of illness due to water-borne infections are also reported in people living near the banks of the river Ganga. Moreover, the issue of global warming is also affecting the melting of the Gangotri glacier that is the source of the river.

Initiatives For Cleaning River Ganga

The growing population of the Ganga River is becoming a crucial issue in the nation. Many programmes have been launched for the purification of the polluted water of River Ganga but none have been much successful in fulfilling the objective. The major cleaning programme for cleaning of river Ganga named Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was initiated in the year 1985. This plan was the dream project of Rajiv Gandhi and was launched with great enthusiasm big expenditure with the motive of cleaning of river Ganga.

 The major motive of this programme was to clean pollution in river water in all districts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal state that lies on the bank of River Ganga. The plan was working with a vision of reducing pollution by stopping the throwing of untreated wastes, effluents and diverting their routes. The result was that the GAP could not become successful in attaining its objective. It is because the plan greatly required the proper implementation for becoming a successful one. The different activities that were responsible for the pollution of the river water were not stopped properly and thus the scenario did not change.

The Initiation Of ‘Namami Gange’

Recently a new project named Namami Gange was launched by the government of India in the year 2014 for cleaning of River Ganga. This project aims to curb the different ways that cause Ganga river pollution. The project also focuses on the building of sewage treatment plants, biodiversity conservation, river surface cleaning, public awareness, etc. Along with the efforts of the government many NGOs have also shown their interest and participated in the cleaning drive of River Ganga. There are many infrastructures built as a result of the efforts of the rejuvenation of river Ganga but the problem of high pollution levels in the river is still prevailing. It requires root implementation of the programmes and policies for making it a successful one. It is also the responsibility of every individual in the nation to help in reducing the Ganga river pollution and cleaning the same.

River Ganga is essential for the existence of the people of India and especially in the regions where it is only the source of drinking water and agricultural purposes. The river basin also provides shelter to a variety of species of flora and fauna. The rising pollution of river water is not a good sign for the people of the nation. We must make effort to reduce the growing pollution in river Ganga and ensure that our efforts might result in the conservation of this natural resource. We must not only give the name goddess to this major river but also treat it like a goddess and help in retaining its purity once again. We all must try to make people aware of the rising pollution in Ganga and also make them understand the reasons behind the same. As an individual, this will be the best way of making effort to save the rivers of our nation.

I have tried to include every essential detail in the long essay on River Ganga provided above. I hope that you will love and enjoy reading the essay on River Ganga.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions On River Ganga

Ans. The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) was established in the year 2009.

Ans. River Ganga was brought to earth from heaven by the great king Bhagirathi.

Ans. Ghaghara is the largest tributary of River Ganga.

Ans. The Kanpur city in Uttar Pradesh state of India is the largest city on the bank of River Ganga.

Ans. Kosi is the tributary of River Ganga that is regarded as the ‘Sorrow of Bihar’.

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Essay on Ganga River

Students are often asked to write an essay on Ganga River in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Ganga River

The ganga river.

The Ganga River, also known as the Ganges, is a sacred river in India. It starts from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and flows through northern India into Bangladesh.

Significance of Ganga

The Ganga is considered holy by Hindus. They believe bathing in it washes away sins. Many religious ceremonies are held on its banks.

Wildlife of Ganga

The river is home to various species like the Ganges River dolphin and Gharials. It also supports many bird species.

Threat to Ganga

Unfortunately, pollution and overuse are threatening the Ganga’s health. Efforts are being made to clean and conserve this important river.

Also check:

• 10 Lines on Ganga River
• Paragraph on Ganga River

250 Words Essay on Ganga River

The significance of the ganga river.

The Ganga River, also known as the Ganges, is one of the most significant and sacred water bodies in India. It originates from the Gangotri Glacier in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, traversing a course of over 2,525 kilometers before merging into the Bay of Bengal.

Religious and Cultural Importance

The Ganga River holds immense religious importance in Hinduism. It is personified as the goddess Ganga, believed to purify the souls of the faithful. Major religious events such as the Kumbh Mela and numerous ritualistic bathing ceremonies are held on its banks, drawing millions of devotees annually.

Economic Role

The river plays a crucial economic role, supporting millions of people living along its course. It provides water for irrigation, drinking, and industrial use. Additionally, it serves as a significant transportation route, facilitating commerce and trade.

Environmental Concerns

Despite its importance, the Ganga River faces severe environmental challenges. Industrial effluents, sewage discharge, and religious offerings contribute to its pollution. The alarming rate of contamination threatens biodiversity and human health, necessitating urgent conservation measures.

Conservation Efforts

The Government of India has initiated several projects like the ‘Namami Gange Programme’ to clean and rejuvenate the river. These initiatives aim at sewage treatment, river surface cleaning, and biodiversity conservation.

In conclusion, the Ganga River is more than just a water body; it is a symbol of India’s cultural, religious, and economic life. However, the escalating environmental threats call for collective efforts to preserve this iconic river for future generations.

500 Words Essay on Ganga River

Introduction.

The Ganga River, also known as the Ganges, is one of the most significant and sacred water bodies in India. Originating from the Gangotri Glacier in Uttarakhand, it traverses over 2,525 kilometers before merging into the Bay of Bengal. The river holds immense religious, cultural, and ecological significance and serves as a lifeline for millions of people.

Historical and Cultural Significance

The Ganga River has been a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization, enriching the country’s spiritual and physical aspects. It is deeply intertwined with Indian mythology and is considered a goddess, Ganga, in Hinduism. The river is a site for numerous religious activities such as bathing, which is believed to wash away sins, and cremation, as its waters are thought to provide moksha or liberation from the cycle of life and death.

Economic Importance

Economically, the Ganga River plays a vital role in the lives of the people residing alongside its banks. It serves as a source of irrigation for vast agricultural lands, enabling the cultivation of diverse crops. The river also supports fisheries, providing livelihoods for thousands of fishermen. Furthermore, it acts as a significant navigation route, facilitating trade and commerce.

Ecological Significance

Ecologically, the Ganga River is a biodiversity hotspot, hosting a variety of aquatic and terrestrial life forms. The river’s basin houses several endangered species, including the Ganges River Dolphin and the Gharial. The rich alluvial soil along the river’s banks supports diverse flora, contributing to the region’s overall ecological health.

Environmental Challenges

Despite its significance, the Ganga River faces severe environmental challenges. Industrialization and urbanization have led to the dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waste into the river, causing significant water pollution. This pollution, coupled with over-extraction of water for agriculture and domestic use, has led to a decline in the river’s health and biodiversity.

Recognizing the critical state of the Ganga River, the Indian government initiated the ‘Namami Gange Programme’ in 2014. The program aims to prevent pollution, conserve biodiversity, and rejuvenate the river. It involves efforts such as setting up sewage treatment plants, enforcing industrial standards, and promoting community participation in river management.

The Ganga River, while being a symbol of cultural and spiritual heritage, is also a mirror reflecting the environmental challenges faced by modern society. Its conservation is not merely about preserving a river, but about sustaining the ecological, economic, and cultural fabric of a civilization. As we move forward, it is crucial to address these challenges through collective responsibility, sustainable practices, and stringent policy measures. Only then can we ensure that this life-giving river continues to flow with grace and vitality.

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Ganga nadi - Ganges: A River in Peril

• August-13-2018

“ The land where the Ganges does not flow    is likened in a hymn to the sky without the sun,    a home without a lamp,    a Brahmin without the Vedas .” 

So writes Jean Tavernie in  Travel in India .

The Ganges, popularly known as 'Ganga’ occupies an integral and sacrosanct place in India’s history making her presence felt from the geopolitical to the socio-economic sphere. The river originates at Gaumukh in the Southern Himalayas flowing through Cities, Towns and quiet landscape before reaching the Triveni Sangam  close to Varanasi (Banaras). There are innumerable sites all along the river which are legendary in Hindu history and mythology.    Endearingly, the river is often referred to as ‘ Ganga-Ma ’ [meaning, ‘mother Ganga’]. It is also the very soul of India where half the population directly or indirectly depends on the Ganges for drinking water and agricultural needs.  In her book “ Banaras: City of Light ,” Diana Eck articulately wrote:

“ There are few things on which Hindu India, diverse as it is, might agree. But of the Ganges, India speaks with one voice. The Ganges carries an immense cultural and religious meaning for Hindus of every region and every sectarian persuasion .”

A sacred river revered by the Hindus and glorified in mythologies, stories, songs and poems, the Ganges is the very heart and soul of India. One would naturally expect that a river this dear to its own people would be cherished and protected with zeal. But alas, perhaps it is the very significance of the river in Hindu customs and belief that has and continues to push it to its nadir.   Today, the Ganges is threatened by the very divine prominence it has been accorded by its own people. Every year, thousands of worshippers congregate on the banks of the river to attend various festivals such as the Sangam, Sagar Mela and Kumbh Mela. This mass gathering of people that the river attracts has an environmentally adverse effect on it. Over the years the glaciers that the river emerges from have been decreasing by hundreds of feet and the decline in average snowfall in the region has prevented their replenishment. According to a number of glaciologists, part of the problem facing the Ganges may lie in the burning of fossil fuels by pilgrims who assemble in tents near the glaciers. Sadly, the reverence given to the river seems to be limited to rituals wherein one takes away from it or ‘uses’ it, without any thought or consideration for what it does to  Ganga-Ma . For example, the emersion of idols of deities and practices such as immersing ashes of the dead in the Ganges may have a divine impetus behind them, but have deadly effects on the river and environment.  The similar callousness is evident all along the Ganga basin, where it is estimated that almost 350 million people reside. As it flows through several towns and cities, untreated human, animal and industrial wastes are discharged into the river. In Kanpur, for example, chromium and other harmful chemicals from the nearby leather industries seep into the river unrestricted. The rise in contamination of ground water around the Ganga Basin areas is evident in the ever increasing cases of water borne disease such as cholera. According to the Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF) that launched the Campaign for a Clean Ganga, fecal coliform pollution in several bathing areas is more than 3,000 times above the level acceptable and safe for human beings. Decomposed corpses that have not been cremated properly are left to float in the river, polluting the sacred waters but also threatens marine and human life.  The seriousness of the problem has been acknowledged by the Indian Authorities who realize that unless serious measures are taken, the water supply generated from the Ganges will dwindle over a period of time. In April 1985 The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was established to clean the Ganges. Several waste treatment facilities were constructed with the help of British and Dutch companies to stop the sewage at a certain cut-off point and redirect the water for treatment. Many electrical crematoria were also built for this purpose. GAP seemed like a positive step when it was launched but could not live up to the expectations and the activities were shut down by the Government in 2000. Some environmentalists believe that more than $600 million spent to implement the GAP over the 15 year period failed to yield the desired results and benefit the Ganges. The core of the problem was an absence of a strong political will combined with erroneous technology and lack of vision to address the problem effectively and adequately. For instance, to operate the sewage treatment plants there was a need for a continuous supply of power which was unavailable and as a result the sewage treatment plants were rendered useless.  The perception of the Ganga itself as a purifying river reduces the sense of urgency as some view the problem as grossly exaggerated. The Ganga is said to contain bacteriophages that can overcome bacteria and so on as well as an unexplained ability to retain dissolved oxygen. However, whether these are seeped in age old beliefs or supported by scientific evidence is debatable.  The President of SMF, Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra, strongly believes the struggle to clean our river is ultimately a battle about information rather than technology. It is a battle to create much greater public awareness to break through the firewall of official indifference in India. There is also an urgent need to promote greater environmental consciousness and responsibility among people to manage our waters more efficiently. The organization in 2001 launched an ambitious three-year "public awareness" project in Varanasi to better inform and encourage citizens to be part of the solution by adopting measures that would make a difference. Workers from the campaign patrol the 7 km stretch along the Varanasi ghats on a daily basis, removing human and animal corpses along with plastic bag and other litter from the river. Although it is an effort that does make a difference there remains a need for a more concrete long-term vision to save the Ganges. The initiative by environmentalist and concerned citizens has propelled the Government to become more pro-active in their approach to clean the Ganga. In October, 2009 under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) was held. Initiatives such as the ‘Mission Clean Ganga’ to prevent untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluent to enter Ganga by 2020 and a comprehensive river basin management plan by December 2010 were put in place. In Februaray 2010, the government allocated substantial budget for the programmes to clean up the Ganges. In the Ganges lies our future water resource and a failure to protect the Ganges could prove detrimental to our own lives, as water scarcity becomes one of the biggest crisis in the near future. India’s first Prime Minter, Late Jawaharlal Nehru famously said: “intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India’s age-long culture and civilization, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.”  Every evening as one sits at the river banks in Haridwar looking across the tranquil waters of the Ganges, one can witness the devotion and religious fervor of the worshippers. The skies darken and the chants of the holy priests grow louder at the culmination of the  Ganga Aarti  (prayers) creating an enchanting atmosphere. One needs to realize that it is not an option to save the life sustaining waters of the Ganges but a necessity for in her survival is interviewed our own salvation and century old traditions and religious beliefs.

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गंगा नदी - वैश्विक प्रकृति और गंगा नदी के अत्याधिक दोहन का परिणाम है कोरोना वायरस

गंगा नदी – गंगा के बैक्टेरियोफेज की कर्मशक्ति को नहीं समझ पाना कोरोना जैसी आपदाओं का द्योतक है

गंगा नदी : गंगा के बालू क्षेत्र का तकनीकी तौर पर एसटीपी के रूप में प्रयोग गंगा जल का संरक्षण करेगा

गंगा नदी के बालूक्षेत्र को एसटीपी के रूप में उपयोग करने और गंगाजल को संरक्षित करने को लेकर भारत सरकार को पत्र

Lock down & improvement in River water Quality - Only a temporary reprieve

गंगा नदी - औषधीय गुणों से भरपूर गंगाजल करेगा प्राकृतिक सैनिटाइजर का काम

गंगा नदी - कोरोना वायरस को मात देने के लिए गंगा जल में स्थित बैक्टीरियोफेज का उत्तम उपयोग करना होगा और गंगा के प्रवाह को संरक्षित करना होगा

गंगा नदी - पर्यावरण प्रेमियों की कड़ी मेहनत से चमका खरकाली गंगा घाट

गंगा नदी - पर्वतरूपी महादेव और प्रकृति रूपी गंगा के तत्व को जानना जरुरी है

गंगा नदी से जुड़ी समग्र नवीनतम जानकारियां

Story of the Ganga River: Its Pollution and Rejuvenation

• First Online: 08 February 2022

Cite this chapter

• Monika Simon 2 &
• Himanshu Joshi 2  

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Water is indispensable for the basic subsistence of human beings. No wonder, most of the civilisations have come upon the banks of rivers or in the river valleys as elsewhere in the world (Chaturvedi, 2019). India is a blessed country in terms of having numerous rivers in this regard (Hudda, 2011). Unfortunately, in 2017, the Ganga River, the National Legacy, and the life support of millions of people was classified as the world’s highly polluted river (Mariya et al., 2019). Ganga, with over 2,525 km long main-stem along with her tributaries has constantly provided material, spiritual and cultural sustenance to millions of people living in and around its basin. The riverine water resources provide irrigation, drinking water, economical transportation, electricity, recreation and religious fulfilment, support to the aquatic ecosystem as well as livelihoods for many stakeholders. The myths and anecdotes about the river and its connection with the people and nature date back to ancient times (Kaushal et al., 2019).

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Journeying along the Ganga, in photos: The past, present and future of India's holiest river

For more than 1,700 miles, stretching from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganga flows across the plains like a timeline of India’s past, nourishing an extraordinary wealth of life.

By Altaf Qadri

More than 2,000 years ago, a powerful king built a fort on the banks of India’s holiest river, on the fringes of what is now a vast industrial city.

Today, little of the ancient construction remains, except for mounds of rubble that tannery workers pick through for bricks to build shanties atop what was once the fortress of the great King Yayati.

Above: The confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers, which is officially accepted as the start of the River Ganga, is illuminated at twilight in the town of Devprayag, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

And Kanpur, where Yayati built his fort, is a city known for its leather tanneries and the relentless pollution they pump into the Ganga.

For more than 1,700 miles, from the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganga flows across the plains like a timeline of India’s past, nourishing an extraordinary wealth of life. It has seen empires rise and fall. It has seen too many wars, countless kings, British colonials, India’s struggle for independence and the rise of Hindu nationalism as a political movement.

Above: The Milky Way glows above the 6856-metres-tall Bhagirathi peaks as seen from Tapovan, at an altitude of 4500 metres in Uttarakhand.

In India, the Ganga is far more than just a river. It is religion, industry, farming and politics. It is a source of water for millions of people, and an immense septic system that endures millions of gallons of raw sewage.

To Hindus, the Ganga is “Ganga Ma” and a centre of spiritual life for more than a billion people. Every year, millions of Hindus make pilgrimages to the temples and shrines along its shores. To drink from it is auspicious. For many Hindus, life is incomplete without bathing in it at least once in their lifetime, to wash away their sins.

Above: Schoolgirls walk along a road overlooking Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand. The Tehri Dam built on the Bhagirathi river is India’s highest dam and supplies power and water to numerous Indian towns and cities. The Bhagirathi river is one of the two sources that form the River Ganga, the other being the Alaknanda river.

But all is not well with the Ganga.

Pollution has left large sections of it dangerous to drink. Criminal gangs illegally mine sand from its banks to feed India’s relentless appetite for concrete. Hydroelectric dams along the river’s tributaries, needed to power India’s growing economy, have infuriated some Hindus, who say the sanctity of the river has been compromised.

Above: Indian Hindu pilgrims walk on a pontoon bridge before dawn at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati during Magh Mela, a festival that attracts millions of pilgrims every year, in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In the run-up to the bathing festivals, extra water is released upstream and tanneries are temporarily closed to clean up the waters of the Ganga. But pollution officials say that it is unsafe to bathe in the Ganga anywhere near Prayagraj.

And over the past 40-some years, the Gangotri Glacier — the source of almost half the Ganga’s water — has been receding at an increasingly frightening pace, now losing about 22 metres (yards) per year.

Above: Mouni Baba, a Hindu holy man, fetches water from a stream at the feet of Mount Shivling in Tapovan, at an altitude of 4500 metres in Uttarakhand. Mouni Baba, on a silent vow, has been meditating in Tapovan for years, even during the long months when winter makes the place inaccessible. Tapovan is located just above the Gangotri Glacier.

For millennia, the Gangotri’s glacial meltwater has ensured the arid plains get enough water, even during the driest months. The rest comes from the Himalayan tributaries that flow from the colossal chain of mountains.

Above: A Hindu holy man meditates near Gaumukh, a snout of the Gangotri Glacier at an altitude of 4000 metres in Uttarakhand. Gaumukh, which literally means the head of a cow, is rapidly moving backwards as Gangotri Glacier has receded considerably for the last few centuries. Research has shown that Gaumukh has retreated around three kilometres in two centuries.

As the Ganga flows across the plains, its once-clean and mineral-rich water begins collecting the toxic waste from the millions of people who depend on it, becoming one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Millions of litres (gallons) of sewage, along with heavy metals, agricultural pesticides, human bodies and animal carcasses, are dumped into the Ganga every day.

At times, officials try to fix things but vast stretches of it remain dangerously unhealthy.

Still, to Hindus, the river remains religiously pure.

Above: A crowd gathers for a prayer ceremony dedicated to the River Ganga in Varanasi, one of the Hinduism’s holiest cities in India. For millions of Hindus, Varanasi is a place of pilgrimage and anyone who dies in the city or is cremated on its ghats is believed to attain salvation and is freed from the cycle of birth and death. Some of the world’s largest religious congregations are marked in Varanasi, a city along the River Ganga, also known as one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

Above: An Indian Hindu family walks on the shallow banks of the River Yamuna, covered with chemical foam caused by industrial and domestic pollution, during Chhath Puja festival in New Delhi. Despite the river being accorded the status of a living human entity by an Indian court, untreated sewage and industrial pollutants have turned it into one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The Yamuna is one of the major tributaries of the Ganga.

Every year, tens of thousands of Hindus bring the bodies of their loved ones to be cremated at the Ganga in Varanasi.

Above: A worker who helps cremate bodies sits by the body of an elderly man, wrapped and weighed down by a large rock, before throwing the body into the river Ganga as per his final wish, on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi. Tens of thousands of corpses are cremated in the city each year, leaving half-burnt flesh, dead bodies and ash floating in the Ganga.

Above: People wait for their turn to cremate a body as piles of logs arrive on boats at Manikarnika Ghat, one of the oldest and most sacred places for Hindus to be cremated, on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi.

Above: Funeral pyres burn at Manikarnika Ghat.

After Varanasi, the Ganga continues its eastward journey through endless farmland as it nears the coast, eventually splitting off into ever-smaller rivers in the great wilderness of her delta. The biggest river, the Hooghly, heads south towards the sea, passing through Kolkata, the largest city in eastern India. Once the capital of the British raj, known as Calcutta, today the seething metropolis is home to nearly 15 million people.

Above: A fisherman boat moves past a floating hotel on the river Hooghly, a distributary of the River Ganga.

Above: A man carries a bucket of water while people wash utensils, brush their teeth and bathe in the polluted waters of the Hooghly, in the backdrop of the landmark Howrah Bridge in Kolkata.

Above: Indian Hindu devotees prepare to immerse an idol of goddess Durga in the Hooghly. Hundreds of thousands of idols are immersed into the Ganga and other rivers across the country on Durga Puja festival, causing serious concerns of environmental pollution.

Eventually, its waters spill into the Bay of Bengal.

Up near the Gangotri Glacier, a genial Hindu holy man who goes by the name Mouni Baba (shown above in one of the photographs) and spends much of his life in silent meditation sees all of mankind reflected in the river.

“Human existence is like this ice,” he said. “It melts and becomes water and then merges into a stream. The stream goes into a tributary which flows into a river and then it all ends up in an ocean. Some (rivers) remain pure while others collect dirt along the way. Some (people) help mankind and some become the cause of its devastation.”

Above: An Indian fisherman wades through shallow waters to reach the banks of the river Ganga after sundown in Bhagalpur in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

[Bleed image>: A Hindu pilgrim takes a holy dip on Makar Sankranti festival on Sagar Island, an island in the Ganga delta, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

— All images courtesy of Altaf Qadri for The Associated Press

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• INTELLIGENT TRAVEL

Life and Death on the Ganges

Our boat was a beauty and her name was Sita. For ten days, she was our home on the Ganges – our portal into a world of few boundaries, where Hinduism is palpable and life and death confront the senses with brazen, and equal, abandon.

Women dressed in vibrant saris splash the holy water across the small frames of their children while, just a stone’s throw away, bodies of animals and humans brush against the banks as they work their way downriver.

Never before had I seen so much death nourish so much life. It was astonishing.

India’s river of extremes had called to me for a long time, in the same way Everest calls to the avid climber. But it was five years ago, during a conversation with one of the most well-traveled people I have ever met,   the late   Waterkeeper Alliance   lawyer, Douglas Chapman,   that my Ganges fascination reached fever pitch.

When I asked Chapman, “What’s the best country you’ve ever visited?,” he said “India” with a gleam in his eye. When I asked what the worst had been, he replied without hesitation: “India.” That’s when I knew I had to experience it for myself.

Tracing India’s Lifeline

My   journey began in Rishikesh, where the Ganges descends from the Himalayas, bringing life, rebirth, and death to millions throughout India.

I had brought two trusted “river rat” friends, Doug and Cliff, who have accompanied me on many previous expeditions along for the ride as well as a first timer, Matt, an entrepreneur   who wanted to take a break from the corporate grind. And we were ready for an adventure.  

When we finally reached the banks of the holy river, we submerged our bodies in its cold waters to   wash away our sins and bless our travels.   Then we met Ravi, our boatman, who makes his living as a private guide for Kensington Tours in Allahabad, and the lot of us began paddling to the dusty town of Gazipur, 250 miles to the east — deep into an India un-glimpsed by most Western eyes.

Sita’s 40-foot frame sliced through the sediment with ease as we sank our large bamboo oars into the river’s depths. As we propelled ourselves ever forward, with Ravi at the   stern, we   passed a magnificent array of contradictions and extremes: ancient ghats , brilliant flowers, bloated pig carcasses, endless farms, forgotten ruins, bustling cities.

One afternoon, as we floated past a funeral procession, I asked Ravi how his people grieved when loved ones died. “When someone has lived a long time, we cannot be sad,” he replied. “We celebrate their passing.”

It made sense. We had rowed past several dozen cremations on our trip, and the scene was always the same: Families and friends looking on as a body wrapped in silk and decorated with marigolds and religious icons was set ablaze beside the holy river.

There was never any wailing or crying. Instead, we were greeted with waves and the odd person eager to practice their broken English   proclaiming “Hello!” Death was no stranger on the Ganges. Just like the birth of a child, a good harvest, or an illness overcome, dying was viewed as a vital and sacred part of the human experience.

Hinduism and the Ganges

As a Kensington Tours Explorer-in-Residence, local guides greeted us on the river bank in the holy cities of Allahabad and Varanasi. Proud and spiritual, these men   had been born and raised in these cities and provided priceless context to the everything we were witnessing. With their help,   we were able to glimpse what life was really like for the people who live along this sacred waterway.

One morning in Varanasi, I watched as a man stood waist deep in the river drinking water from cupped hands and praying, while a decaying dog floated by only feet away. Acknowledging the dog, he displayed no hesitation when it came to bathing in the same water. This was not the exception; it was the rule.

I came to understand the Hindu belief that the stronger your connection to the Ganges, the better your chances of improving your status through reincarnation. For Hindus, the river is literally a living goddess, Ganga Ma. Thus, there is a holiness to all that enters its waters, living or dead.

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Further downriver at the foot of an unassuming ghat, Ravi turned to us and said: “Here we embrace death, as it defines life. We bathe in and pray for Ganga Ma, for she washes away our sins and directs our reincarnation. Her waters give us hope that we can one day be liberated from this endless cycle of birth and death, and attain nirvana.”

Every River Runs its Course, Finding Life After Loss on the Ganges

On our last day in India, I found out my Gramma had passed away. She was 83 years old and had enjoyed good health and comfort all her life. Still, I was shocked by her sudden passing. Isolated on the other side of the world, I walked a stretch of beach alone just before sunset to say goodbye to her and to India. In my experience, nature is the best healing agent – the only way to make sense of things that make no sense.

As I watched the sun set, I realized something I had never realized at home. It was something that India, the Ganges, and Ravi had taught me. Ultimately, it was this lesson that unconsciously prepared me to deal with this personal loss.

Without death, life loses its meaning. In the West, death is something we deny and fear because it’s something we can’t control or even understand. But after rowing the Ganges I learned death is as purposeful as the setting sun. Death is necessary for life to continue and, like it or not, we all play our part in the circle.

Brett Rogers is an acclaimed river explorer, filmmaker, Kensington Tours Explorer-in-Residence and Explorers Club Member. Follow his adventures on Twitter @brettonthewater .

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Special Essay: The Ganga – Eternally pure?

March 5th, 2012

Prof. Ellen Wohl, Colorado State University, United States

The Ganges, or as it known in India, the Ganga, is a river of stories. Scholars have collected many tales about this river that springs from a dozen sources on the roof of the world. Each of the stories shares the theme that Ganga, daughter of the Himalaya, is persuaded to shed her purifying waters on the sinful Earth and thus bring salvation to humanity.

The Ganga is the great collector of Himalayan snows. The many sources of the Ganga flow south and east from melting glaciers in these highlands, collecting into the great trunk stream that flows due east before bending slightly southward into the Bay of Bengal. Little water comes from the dry lowlands across the western and southern portions of the Ganga drainage basin.

As the rivers of the Ganga basin leave the steep topography of the Himalaya and enter the hill country to the south, they flow through the first of many cities spread along their courses. Cities such as Kathmandu, Nepal, along the tributary Bishnumati River, release a variety of contaminants into the rivers, and water quality deteriorates rapidly downstream. Organic pollution comes from the tens of thousands of bodies cremated on the Ganga itself, as well as human and animal wastes. More dangerous and persistent chemical contaminants released by the hundreds of factories along the Ganga and its tributaries include mercury, highly toxic heavy metals such as lead and copper, and various synthetic chemicals. Crop lands leak pesticides and excess fertilizers into the rivers 1 .

A 2001 study of contaminants in tissue from humans, domestic animals, and wildlife throughout India found that compounds such as PCBs are ubiquitous 2 . These compounds persist in the environment and accumulate in the tissues of living creatures, reaching higher concentrations than those ingested by the organism. Many of the compounds disrupt reproduction and development, as well as being carcinogens.

Foreign visitors to India have long commented on the filth of the Ganga. Indians historically believed that the river was physically as well as spiritually pure and thus had no trouble bathing in and drinking water in which partially cremated corpses floated downstream. Nonetheless, 80 percent of the health problems in contemporary India come from waterborne diseases. No one in India spoke of the Ganga as polluted until the late 1970s, by which time large stretches of the river – over 600 kilometers – were effectively ecologically dead. National attitudes have now changed dramatically, and grassroots environmental concern about water pollution, as well as government attempts to control pollution, are growing.

The government launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985. GAP includes interception and diversion of sewage, construction of sewage treatment plants, and development of water quality standards and protective legislation. Some aspects of water quality – dissolved oxygen levels, phosphate and nitrate concentrations – have improved locally as a result of GAP, but other contaminants such as pesticides in agricultural runoff remain largely unchanged because they are not treated in wastewater plants. A 1994 study found that residues of the insecticide aldrin, for example, commonly exceeded the World Health Organization’s guidelines for drinking water 3 . As in much of the world, water quality standards in India are only as good as their enforcement, which has been uneven. Clean water is now a limiting resource across the Ganga drainage, despite the relatively wet climate of much of the region.

River pollution is in many ways difficult for people to grapple with. An activist cannot literally embrace a portion of a river the way that people protesting excessive tree cutting in India can hug a tree. Because a river integrates an entire drainage basin, the contaminants present at any point along the river represent everything entering the main channel upstream, as well as tributaries, surface runoff, and subsurface flow. Unless the contaminants produce a highly visible result such as a massive fish kill below an industrial point source, the effects of water pollution are usually subtle and slow-acting.

Other challenges to river ecological health are present across the Ganga drainage. Headwater glaciers that supply the majority of flow within the river network are retreating rapidly as a result of warming climate, threatening the dependable supply of water on which the ten percent of global population living in the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and Indus River basins rely. Water engineering in the form of large hydroelectric dams in the Himalaya, and numerous diversions and water-storage dams in the middle and lower portions of the Ganga drainage, has caused massive side effects ranging from dislocation of human communities, through loss of resources such as fishery stocks, and increased hazards from flooding, to saltwater incursions and erosion of the Ganga delta. Excessive groundwater pumping for irrigated agriculture has caused surface subsidence and reduced stream flows. Efforts to improve the water quality of the Ganga must consider this complicated context.

The good news is that rivers are resilient and, in places where water quality has improved, at least some of the components of a healthy river ecosystem have returned. Several basic steps are necessary to improve water quality in the Ganga. First and foremost, people must be aware of the problem and sufficiently concerned to put forth the very real effort needed to reverse declines in water quality. Second, setting and enforcing legal standards for water quality that incorporate not only organic contaminants, but also synthetic chemicals, is critical. Such standards rely on systematic knowledge of existing water quality conditions and the political will to create and enforce regulations, and neither the resources for systematic water-quality monitoring nor the enforcement of regulations are likely to occur without public support. Third, patterns of resource use must be altered in ways that facilitate improvement of water quality. Examples include expanded construction of residential sewage systems and municipal wastewater treatment plants; treatment of industrial effluents; and restoration of wetlands and riparian vegetation that can trap and retain the silt and clay particles to which excess nutrients and other contaminants are commonly physically attached.

Even the sacred Ganga cannot withstand the onslaught of contemporary resource use and remain eternally pure. The recognition that people can, and must, make a difference in the quality of the region where they live has the potential not only to save the rivers of the Ganga drainage, but to empower the people living along the banks of these rivers and relying on river water for life itself.

References :

1. Wohl, E. (2011), A World of Rivers: Environmental Change on Ten of the World’s Great Rivers, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 2. Kumar, K.S., K. Kannan, O.N. Paramasivan, V.P.S. Sundaram, J. Nakanishi, and S. Makunasa (2001), Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and polychlorinated biphenyls in human tissues, meat, fish, and wildlife samples from India. Environmental Science and Technology, v. 35, p. 3448-3455. 3. Agnihotri, N.P., V.T. Gajbhiye, M. Kumar, and S.P. Mohapatra (1994), Organochlorine insecticide residues in Ganges River water near Farrukhabad, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, v. 30, p. 105-112.

Professor Ellen Wohl is a geologist at Colorado State University. She studies river form and process, including how human activities alter rivers. She has worked on rivers around the world for more than 20 years, and written several books about human effects on rivers, including “Virtual Rivers” (Yale University Press, 2001), “Disconnected Rivers” (Yale University Press, 2004), and “Of Rock and Rivers” (University of California Press, 2009). This article is adapted from the book ‘A World of Rivers: Environmental Change on Ten of the World’s Great Rivers’ (University of Chicago Press, 2011), which explores human-induced environmental changes on the Ganges and other major rivers in more detail.

The views expressed in this article belong to the individual authors and do not represent the views of the Global Water Forum, the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance, UNESCO, the Australian National University, or any of the institutions to which the authors are associated. Please see the Global Water Forum terms and conditions here .

The National Ganga River Basin Project

See the full Infographic .

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Ganga River Basin is home to more than 600 million Indians.
• As India's holiest river, the Ganga has a cultural and spiritual significance that far transcends the boundaries of its basin.
• Despite this iconic status and religious heritage, the Ganga today is facing formidable pollution pressures and associated threats to its biodiversity and environmental sustainability.

The Ganga is India's most important and iconic river. It flows down from its glacial source in the high Himalayas to course through five states in the northern plains before draining into the swirling waters of the Bay of Bengal through the Sunderbans delta, the largest mangrove system in the world. Along its 2,500 km journey, the river enriches huge swathes of agricultural land and sustains a long procession of towns and cities. 

The sprawling Ganga basin, an area of 860,000 sq km spread across 11 states, is the world’s most populous river basin. It is home to more than 600 million Indians, close to half the country’s population; and over 40 percent of the country’s GDP is generated in this region. The basin provides more than one-third of India’s surface water, 90 percent of which is used for irrigation.  Paradoxically, this fertile region is also home to some of the poorest sections of India’s population, with more than 200 million people living below the national poverty line.

As India's holiest river, the Ganga has a cultural and spiritual significance that far transcends the basin’s boundaries. It is worshipped as a living goddess and, since time immemorial, people from across the country have flocked to the many historic temple towns the lie along the river’s banks to pray and bathe in its flowing waters.

Pollution in the Ganga

Despite this iconic status and religious heritage, the Ganga today is facing formidable pollution pressures, along with the attendant threats to its biodiversity and environmental sustainability. An ever-growing population, together with inadequately planned urbanization and industrialization, has affected the quality of the river’s waters.  Today, the Ganga’s waters are sullied by the incessant outpouring of sewage, as well as by the large volumes of solid and industrial waste that are churned out by human and economic activity along the river’s banks.

The absence of adequate infrastructure, along with weak environmental governance and little technical expertise to manage these extreme pollution pressures, has resulted in the rapid deterioration of the water’s quality in recent decades. 

The Ganga’s mainstem runs through 50 major Indian cities, almost all of which have a population of more than 50,000 people. These towns and cities generate some 3 billion litres of sewage every day, only a fraction of which is treated before it reaches the river.  While domestic sewage accounts for 70-80 percent of the wastewater that flows into the Ganga, Industrial effluents add another 15 percent, with far-reaching impacts on human and aquatic health due to their toxic nature. And, in the absence of adequate solid waste management in most cities, mounds of uncollected garbage add to the pervasive pollution.

World Bank Assistance

The World Bank is supporting the Government of India in its effort to rejuvenate the Ganga River. The $1 billion  National Ganga River Basin Project  is helping the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) build institutional capacity for rejuvenating the river. It is also financing key infrastructure investments in the five mainstem states - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The project has two key components: Component 1 ($200 million) supports institutional development that includes the operationalization of institutions at the central and state level; a communications and stakeholder engagement program; water quality monitoring; and technical assistance for city service providers and environmental regulators. Component 2 comprises a $800 million financing window for infrastructure investments in four sectors: wastewater collection and treatment, control of industrial pollution, solid waste management, and riverfront development.

The Institutions

The  National Mission for Clean Ganga  (NMCG), the operational wing of the NGRBA, has been set up to coordinate the river’s clean-up program. State Program Management Groups (SPMGs) have been established in all five mainstem states. Investments are being implemented by multiple executing agencies, mainly parastatal organizations such as the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and some Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)

The Investments

The project aims to plug some of the major infrastructure gaps in cities along the Ganga’s mainstem. Several key investments have been identified primarily to address the problem of untreated domestic sewage from towns and cities along the river. Work has already begun on wastewater investments in the cities of Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, and Kolkata, as well as in smaller towns that lie along the river’s critically polluted stretch in Uttar Pradesh.  This will result in the installation of over 300 MLD of new sewage treatment capacity and over 2,000 km of new sewerage networks in these urban centres. 

Building on lessons learnt from earlier efforts to clean the Ganga, these investments have been designed to ensure their long-term sustainability.  The new wastewater investments will be developed in the PPP mode but innovative 10-year Design–Build–Operate (DBO) contracts will ensure that the private operator maintains the infrastructure for 10 years.  This period will be utilized for strengthening the technical and financial capacity of the ULB service providers to manage the long-term operation of these assets. In a bid to ensure that the new assets do not remain unutilized, all houses/properties will be connected to the sewerage networks; these networks will, in turn, be connected to new or existing treatment systems.

Project Progress

Uttarakhand:   The first investments in this state are likely to be wastewater treatment and conveyance systems in the Hardiwar-Rishikesh area with some 100 kms of sewer networks and 80 MLD of sewage treatment capacity being built in Jagjitpur and Muni ki Reti.

Uttar Pradesh : Investments worth more than $250 million are focusing on reducing the pollution load in the river in key cities and towns that lie along the river’s most critically polluted stretch. In Allahabad alone, the project will help build two sewage treatment plants as well as 800 km of sewerage networks in four city districts, covering almost 80 percent of the city’s population of nearly 1.3 million people.

Bihar:  Patna just has about 20 km of sewers for some 3 million people.    Project investments worth more than $230 million will help cover the city fully with wastewater treatment and sewerage systems. In addition, an ongoing $43 million investment in river-front development will not only build a new a 6-km promenade along the river but also help upgrade public infrastructure such as toilets, bathing areas and other public amenities at 21 ghats.

West Bengal:  Investments worth 46 USD million are underway in Halisahar and investments are being prepared to manage wastewater in the towns of Budge Budge and Barrackpore that fall within the Greater Kolkata Metropolitan Area.   In Kolkata city, the project is financing preparatory studies for the clean-up and rehabilitation of  Tolly’s Nullah , a severely polluted urban canal that runs through the core of south Kolkata. It will also help city authorities plan and develop an integrated river-front development for Kolkata and Howrah.

Water Quality Monitoring:  Some 30 state-of-the-art, real-time water quality monitoring stations will be installed along the river in the first phase of a larger effort to acquire reliable water quality data. These will be managed by the Central Pollution Control Board and will strengthen the regulation and oversight of the river’s pollution load by helping planners better understand the point-source versus non-point source origins of pollution, as well as to assess the impact of treatment on the water’s quality.

Ganga Knowledge Center:  An internationally-recognized research institute concerning all aspects of the river, known as the Ganga Knowledge Center, has been established; the institute is in the early stages of operationalization.  The institute’s mandate includes conducting modelling and targeted research to facilitate basin-scale decision-making, mapping the entire basin through a GIS-based mapping system, as well as disseminating knowledge, including through a high-quality web portal. 

India’s Most Iconic River

Worshiped as a living goddess by millions, the Ganga river also provides economic sustenance and environmental services to almost half of India’s population.

Slideshow: National Ganga River Basin Project

The National Ganga River Basin Authority is developing a multi-sectoral program for ensuring that after 2020 no untreated wastewater will flow into the Ganga. The World Bank is supporting the government of India in its ...

The Mighty Ganga Basin

India's iconic river is facing a myriad challenges today.

• National Ganga River Basin Project FAQ
• National Ganga River Basin Project documents
• Press Release: $1 billion Support from World Bank for Ganga Clean-up
• Lending information for the Ganga River Basin Project
• Infographic: The Mighty Ganga Basin

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Essay on Namami Gange

Namami Gange Essay for Class 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and College students. Find a paragraph, long and short essay on Namami Gange for Students in English.

Long and Short Essay on Namami Gange for Students

Essay on Namami Gange 250 Words

River Ganga is the lifeline of 11 states and 43% population of north India. recently natural and man-made causes have escalated the rate of pollution of Ganga water to an alarming level. In 2014 prime minister Mr Narendra Modi launched the NAMAMI GANGE mission.

It is overlooked by the Ministry of water resources and Ganga Rejuvenation. The initial budget for this mission is 2037cr. The aim of Namami Ganga project is not only to stop the pollution of the river but also to clean it further. This mission aims to cover 8 states, 47 towns and 12 tributaries. Selling Ganga water is a scaled industry and after its purity is revived revenues might shoot up.

The project will give the local youth employment. Developments of ghats and beautification of riverfronts will boost tourism as a lot of spots are on its bank. But people are still reckless and dump waste in Ganga, leather and textile industry has done the most damage, also at many places, industrial waste is directly dumped into it. Religious rites like cremation and ash spilling has further degraded the water quality. Under this mission, stringent laws and penalty is imposed on perpetrators and NGT now cancel licenses of defaulters. Camping within 100m is prohibited.

Further ion-exchange multi-layer filtration and bio-remediation techniques to treat the wastewater should be done. Services of various institutes of social science should be sought by the government and shore areas of the river should be made hundred percent open defecation free.

Besides the government, we as citizens should understand the unparalleled importance of river Ganga and should pledge to keep it clean and pure.

We hope you like our essay on Namami Gange Project.

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Short Essay on Ganga River in English

The Ganga is a holy river of India. River Ganga has been originated from the Gomukh cave of the Gangotri glacier.

The Ganga flows through India and Bangladesh. The cities like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Bhagalpur, Allahabad, Patna, Kanpur and Mirzapur etc. are located in the bank of the Ganga.

River Bhagirathi and Alaknanda come met at Devprayag to form the river Ganga. It rises in the Indian state of Uttarakhand which is in the part of Western Himalayas, flows through Uttar Prades, Bihar and West Bengal.

The Ganga has both spiritual. It represents thousands of years of old Indian civilization. Hindu believe the ‘Ganga Jal or Ganga water’ to be pure, religious. In many of the rituals related to birth, death and marriage, Hindus pay much importance to Ganga water. Ganga water is very much precious for the Hindus. They keep the Ganga water in a holy place like a temple.

It is discovered that there is an unknown and unique substance found in the River Ganga which can kill the bacteria in the water. Therefore, it’s self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels 25 times higher than any other river in the world.

Moreover, the water of Ganga is used for agricultural and industrial activities. The river has formed the most fertile flood plains in the world.

For Indians, the river holds much important place in their lives. It holds a sacred place in the heart of every Indian. People’s religious beliefs are attached to the River Ganga.

Table of Contents

Question on Ganga river

Where is the ganga river situated.

It rises in the Indian state of Uttarakhand which is in the part of Western Himalayas, flows through Uttar Prades, Bihar and West Bengal.

How many rivers meet in Ganga?

River Bhagirathi and Alaknanda come met at Devprayag to form the river Ganga.

Which is the national river of India?

The Ganges is the longest river in India.

Which is the largest dam in India?

Tehri Dam is the largest dam in India.

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Essay on river Ganga in Sanskrit

This is an essay on river Ganga in Sanskrit.

गङ्गा नदी इति विषये संस्कृते निबन्धः।

गंगा नदी पर निबंध।.

English and Hindi translation are given for better understanding.

This essay on river Ganga in Sanskrit can be referenced by school students and Sanskrit learners.

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Video of Essay on River Ganga in Sanskrit

भारते बहवः नद्यः सन्ति। तासु गङ्गा महत्त्वपूर्णतमा नदी अस्ति। अस्याः भारतीयसंस्कृत्याम् अतीव महत्त्वपूर्णं स्थानम् अस्ति। सा हिमालयपर्वतेभ्यः प्रवहति। तस्याः जलं पवित्रं मन्यते। तस्याः जलं पीत्वा, अथवा तेन स्नात्वा पुण्यं प्राप्यते। जनाः तां देवीरूपेण मन्यन्ते। सा उत्तरभारते विशेषतया महत्त्वपूर्णा। तस्याः प्रवाहस्य कारणात् तत्र भूमिः सरसा भवति। अनेककृषिकाणां सस्योत्पादने सहायता भवति। पौराणिककथासु गङ्गा शन्तनुनृपस्य भार्या तथा च देवव्रतस्य (भीष्मस्य​) माता। गङ्गायाः अन्यनामानि अपि सन्ति। यथा – भागीरथी जाह्नवी च​। गङ्गायाः पवित्रतायाः कारणात् तस्याः तीरे तीर्थस्थानानि अपि सन्ति। यथा – “वाराणसी, हृषीकेश, हरिद्वार” इति। तस्याः पात्रं विस्तृतं भवति। प्रयागे तस्याः यमुनया सह सङ्गमः भवति। जनाः स्नानसमये गङां नित्यं स्मरन्ति।

गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति। नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन्सन्निधिं कुरु॥

gaṅgā nadī iti viṣaye saṃskṛte nibandhaḥ।

bhārate bahavaḥ nadyaḥ santi। tāsu gaṅgā mahattvapūrṇatamā nadī asti। asyāḥ bhāratīyasaṃskṛtyām atīva mahattvapūrṇaṃ sthānam asti। sā himālayaparvatebhyaḥ pravahati। tasyāḥ jalaṃ pavitraṃ manyate। tasyāḥ jalaṃ pītvā, athavā tena snātvā puṇyaṃ prāpyate। janāḥ tāṃ devīrūpeṇa manyante। sā uttarabhārate viśeṣatayā mahattvapūrṇā। tasyāḥ pravāhasya kāraṇāt tatra bhūmiḥ sarasā bhavati। anekakṛṣikāṇāṃ sasyotpādane sahāyatā bhavati। paurāṇikakathāsu gaṅgā śantanunṛpasya bhāryā tathā ca devavratasya (bhīṣmasya​) mātā। gaṅgāyāḥ anyanāmāni api santi। yathā – bhāgīrathī jāhnavī ca​। gaṅgāyāḥ pavitratāyāḥ kāraṇāt tasyāḥ tīre tīrthasthānāni api santi। yathā – “haridvāra” iti। tasyāḥ pātraṃ vistṛtaṃ bhavati। prayāge tasyāḥ yamunayā saha saṅgamaḥ bhavati। janāḥ snānasamaye gaṅāṃ nityaṃ smaranti।

gaṅge ca yamune caiva godāvari sarasvati। narmade sindhu kāveri jale’sminsannidhiṃ kuru॥

Essay on river Ganga

Many rivers flow in India. However, the most important of them all is the river Ganga. She has a position of utmost importance in Indian culture.

The river Ganga originates in the Himalayas. Her water is holy. By drinking her water or by bathing in the river ganga, one is purified. People consider Ganga to be a goddess.

River Ganga is especially important in Northern India. The land there is fertile because of the river. The river water assists the farmers in growing crops.

In ancient Indian stories, Ganga is depicted as the wife of King Shantanu and the mother of Devavrata (Bhishma). Ganga is known by many names. Some are Bhagirathi, Jahnavi, etc. Due to her holiness, many places situated on her banks are considered holy e.g. Varanasi, Rishikesh, Haridwar.

Ganga is a wide river. At Prayag, the Ganga merges with the Yamuna river. People always remember river Ganga while bathing by reciting the following shloka.

O’ Holy river, Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri! Please enter this water in which I am bathing and make it holy.

भारत देश में बहुत नदियाँ बहती हैं। उनमें गंगा नदी महत्त्वपूर्ण है। इस नदी का भारतीय संस्कृति में महत्त्वपूर्ण स्थान है।

यह हिमालय पर्वत से उगम पाती है। इसका जल पवित्र माना जाता है। इसका पानी पीकर अथवा उसमें स्नान करके पुण्य प्राप्ति होती है। लोग इसे देवता रूप मानते हैं।

उत्तर भारत में यह महत्त्वपूर्ण है। इसके प्रवाह से वहाँ की भूमि सकस हो जाती है। अनेक किसानों को खेत में उत्पादन करने के लिए इस नदी की सहायता होती है।

पौराणिक कथा में गंगा राजा शंतनु की पत्नी और देवव्रत (भीष्मजी) की माँ थी। गंगा नदी के अनेक नाम हैं। जैसे – भागीरथी, जाह्नवी इत्यादी। गंगा नदी की पवित्रता की वजह से उसके तीर पर तीर्थस्थान भी हैं। जैसे – वाराणसी, हृषीकेश, हरिद्वार, इत्यादी।

गंगा नदी का पात्र विशाल है। प्रयाग में गंगा नदी का यमुना नदी से संगम होता है। लोग स्नान करने के समय गंगा नदी को नित्य याद करते हैं।

हे गंगा, यमुना, गोदावरी, सरस्वती, नर्मदा, सिन्धु, कावेरी नदियों! मेरे स्नान करने के इस जल में आप सभी पधारिए।

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Guest Essay

When It Comes to TikTok, the World’s Democracies Have Played the Sucker for Far Too Long

Mr. Wu is a law professor at Columbia, a contributing Opinion writer and the author of “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.”

China’s violations of human rights and the basic norms of internet freedom are blatant and obvious. This month, with little fanfare, the country ordered Apple to block downloads of WhatsApp, Threads and Signal within its borders. It already prevents citizens from connecting to dozens of other providers of information, including this newspaper and Wikipedia, and for years, it has aggressively surveilled journalists and dissidents.

That abysmal track record gives the United States every right to demand that TikTok find a different owner — one not subject to the control of the Chinese state.

Last week, President Biden signed a law that did just that. TikTok’s current owner, ByteDance, has long emphasized that global institutional investors — such as the Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group — have a 60 percent stake in the company, but it is still, at its core, a Chinese company, with headquarters in Beijing and subject in multiple ways to the direction of Chinese officials. This new law, which gives TikTok roughly 270 days to find a new owner, is designed to change that. But more fundamentally, it sends a message to the world: You cannot disregard basic internet norms and expect to be treated just like any other country.

Infrastructure is destiny, and on some level, the continuing struggle to control the internet is a struggle for the future of civilization. We are already very far from the vision of the internet, laid out in the 1970s and 1990s, of a network that would bring the nations and peoples of the world together in harmony. That may have been too idealistic, even then — but today we can still draw a line at mass surveillance and censorship and make it clear that nations that break norms are not entitled to full access to American markets.

Some have argued that TikTok should be left alone to preserve a free and open internet. They argue that to treat China differently would fragment the network. That gets things backward. China, Russia, Iran and other nations have long since broken from any one-internet vision with their blocking, shutdowns and censorship. This month, American policymakers demonstrated that doing so has consequences.

That China violates established norms is not in question. In 2022 more than 60 nations signed a Declaration for the Future of the Internet enumerating basic online principles that all nations should respect (China, Russia and other nations declined to sign): no shutdowns around elections, no surveillance of political opponents, no bans on lawful content. While no country is perfect, only nations like Russia, Iran and Cuba can rival China in their flagrant violations of these principles. Freedom House, which measures internet freedoms, rates Iceland at 94 out of 100, Russia at 21 and China at 9. That alone is grounds to disqualify it from controlling what is now one of the world’s most important social media networks.

If the United States refuses to enforce the principles of internet freedom and openness, it makes a mockery of them. I will be the first to admit that even the United States has at times failed to respect these principles, particularly when it comes to state surveillance. But the answer is not to throw up our hands and declare that there is nothing to be done.

ByteDance, for its part, maintains that it is not subject to control by the Chinese government. The weight of the evidence suggests otherwise: The Chinese state owns a golden share in the company, the firm is based in China, and studies suggest that the government shapes TikTok content in accordance with party preferences. ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok, but that may be merely a means of driving up the price. What the company now has is a prime opportunity to prove its independence once and for all: by selling TikTok and taking the money.

It is true that only a few American companies — such as Oracle, Microsoft and Meta — have the money to buy TikTok, and I’ll admit that should Meta or Google acquire it, that company would have a dangerous amount of control over one of its greatest competitors. But that need not be the future of TikTok. Its current investors could partner with individuals, such as the Canadian investor and businessman Kevin O’Leary, to turn it “into an American company,” as he has said he wants to do. TikTok could even be run as a nonprofit and perhaps begin a move toward a less toxic business model.

These are radical steps, to be sure. But they are not without precedent. The new TikTok law is similar to the longstanding law that originally barred foreign citizens and corporations from owning U.S. radio and television stations. That law, enacted in the 1930s, might seem quaint today, but during the propaganda wars of the 20th century, control over radio stations was nothing to joke about. No one doubts that control over radio broadcasting was essential during World War II; there is no reason to pretend that social media has any less political salience in our times.

TikTok is already banned in a handful of other countries, including India, and on government phones in Australia, Canada and most of Europe. But it is important that other democratic nations — particularly in Europe — take seriously the dangers of Chinese control over their vital communications platforms. While justifiably concerned about the privacy practices of American tech platforms, they can’t ignore the question of who owns TikTok. The democracies of the world have played the sucker for far too long.

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia, is the author of “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.”

Source photographs by KaanC and Hand-robot, via Getty Images.

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