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Revision as of 05:26, 23 April 2011 view sourceFowler&fowler (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers63,151 edits Removing irrelevant statement about the GBM basin. This is an article about the Ganges, It can't have in its lead statements that include the basin of another even bigger river such as Brahmaputra← Previous edit Revision as of 05:38, 23 April 2011 view source Fowler&fowler (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers63,151 edits →History: need quotation from CarTick. He is misinterpreted Romila Thapar's statement about geographical focus of the rg veda, not about the major/minor nature of the rivers in the Vedic ageNext edit →
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==History== ==History==
During the early ], the ] and the ] were the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, not the Ganges. But the later three Vedas seem to give much more importance to the Ganges, as shown by its numerous references.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Image of the Barbarian in Early India| author=Romila Thapar| journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History| year=Oct 1971| volume=13 (4)| pages=415| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/178208}}</ref> During the early ], the ] and the ] were the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, not the Ganges. But the later three Vedas seem to give much more importance to the Ganges, as shown by its numerous references.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Image of the Barbarian in Early India| author=Romila Thapar| journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History| year=Oct 1971| volume=13 (4)| pages=415| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/178208}}</ref>{{Request quotation|date=April 2011}}


The first European Traveler to mention the Ganges was ] (ca. 350 – 290 BCE).He did so several times in his work ]: "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30&nbsp;stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the ], a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37)<ref>{{cite journal | title=Alexander and the Ganges| author=W. W. Tarn| journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies| year=1923| volume=43 (2)| pages=93-101| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/625798}}</ref> The first European Traveler to mention the Ganges was ] (ca. 350 – 290 BCE).He did so several times in his work ]: "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30&nbsp;stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the ], a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37)<ref>{{cite journal | title=Alexander and the Ganges| author=W. W. Tarn| journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies| year=1923| volume=43 (2)| pages=93-101| url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/625798}}</ref>

Revision as of 05:38, 23 April 2011

"Ganga" redirects here. For the Hindu goddess that personifies the river, see Ganga (goddess). For other uses, see Ganga (disambiguation).

Template:Geobox The Ganges (Template:IPA-en GAN-jeez; or Ganga, Template:Lang-sa Template:Lang-hi Template:Lang-ur Ganga Template:IPA-hns; Template:Lang-bn Gônga), is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The 2,510 km (1,560 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it ranks among the world's top 20 rivers.

The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus and is considered the lifeline to millions of Indians who depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It has also been important historically: many former provincial or imperial capitals (such as Patliputra, Kannauj, Kara, Allahabad, Murshidabad, Baharampur and Kolkata) have been located on its banks.


The river is highly polluted, with indices in cities such as Varanasi over a hundred times the official Indian government limit. This threatens the river's ecology, including the unique Ganges river dolphin. The Ganga Action Plan Phase I and II, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, achieved little success, due to lack of community participation in the process. The Ganga Action Plan 2020 envisages community participation as a means of achieving results.

History

During the early Vedic Age, the Indus and the Sarasvati River were the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, not the Ganges. But the later three Vedas seem to give much more importance to the Ganges, as shown by its numerous references.

The first European Traveler to mention the Ganges was Megasthenes (ca. 350 – 290 BCE).He did so several times in his work Indica: "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the Gangaridai, a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37)

In Rome's Piazza Navona, a famous sculpture, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (fountain of the four rivers) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and sculpted by his student Claude Poussin (See article at Swedish Misplaced Pages) was built in 1651. It symbolizes four of the world's great rivers (the Ganges, the Nile, the Danube, and the Río de la Plata), representing the four continents; Asia, Africa, Europe and America, thus the universality of the Catholic church, and its centre at Rome. The river is symbolised by a paddle to indicate its navigability.

Religious and cultural significance

The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are 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.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India

When I talk to officials, I show them reports on fecal coliform, and when I talk to local people, I show them there is s___ in the holy Ganges. It is the same thing, but I say it in different languages.

Veer Bhadra Mishra, chief priest of the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple, Varanasi; former professor of hydraulic engineering and former head of the Civil Engineering Department at the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; and Time Magazine Hero of the Planet, 1999.

Hinduism

Main article: Ganges in Hinduism
Hindus worship the river as goddess Ganga

Many Hindus believe life is incomplete without taking a bath in the Ganges at least once in their lives. Many Hindu families keep a vial of water from the Ganges in their house. This is done because it is auspicious to have water of the Holy Ganges in the house, and also so that if someone is dying, that person will be able to drink its water. Many Hindus believe that the water from the Ganges can cleanse a person's soul of all past sins, and that it can also cure the ill. Also, people scatter ashes of loved ones here. George Harrison of The Beatles had his ashes scattered in the river by his family in a private ceremony soon after his death, as per Hindu tradition.

Legend of Bhagirath

Bhagirathi River at Gangotri, Uttarakhand, India

According to Hindu religion, a very famous king Bhagiratha did Tapasya for many years constantly to bring the River Ganges, then residing in the Heavens, down on the Earth to find salvation for his ancestors, who were cursed by a seer. Therefore, the Ganges descended to the Earth through the mat of hair of god Shiva to make whole earth pious, fertile and wash out the sins of humans.

Course

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The Himalayan headwaters of the Ganges river in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. The headstreams and rivers are labeled in italics; the heights of the mountains, lakes, and towns are displayed in parentheses in meters.

Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest headstreams and their five confluences are given both cultural and geographical emphasis (see the map showing the headwaters of the river). The Alaknanda River meets the Dhauliganga River at Vishnuprayag, the Nandakini River at Nandprayag, the Pindar River at Karnaprayag, the Mandakini River at Rudraprayag and finally the Bhagirathi River at Devprayag, to form the Ganges main stem. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source stream in Hindu culture and mythology. It rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gaumukh, at an elevation of 3,892 m (12,769 ft). The headwaters of the Alaknanda are formed by snowmelt from such peaks as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet.

After flowing 200 kilometres (120 mi) through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar, Uttarakhand. There, a dam diverts some of its waters into the Ganges Canal, which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, whereas the river, whose course has been roughly southwestern until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India.

The Ganges follows an 800-kilometre (500 mi) arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj, Farukhabad, and Kanpur before being joined from the southwest by the Yamuna at the Sangam at Allahabad, a holy confluence in Hinduism. Now flowing east, the river meets the Gomti, the Ghaghra, the Gandaki, and the Kosi on the left bank; and the Son on the right, and gathers a formidable current between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal. Along the way, it passes the towns of Varanasi, Patna, Ghazipur, Bhagalpur, Mirzapur, Ballia, Buxar, Saidpur, and Chunar. At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Pakur, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to become the Hooghly River. Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage, controls the flow of the Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linking to the Hooghly to keep it relatively silt-free.

After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges is known as the Padma until it is joined by the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra. Further downstream, the Ganges is fed by the Meghna River, the second largest distributary of the Brahmaputra, and takes on the Meghna's name as it enters the Meghna Estuary. Fanning out into the 350-kilometre (220 mi)-wide Ganges Delta, the river finally empties into the Bay of Bengal.

Only two rivers, the Amazon and the Congo, have greater discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Surma-Meghna river system.

Dams and barrages

Head works of the Ganges canal in Haridwar (1860). photograph by Samuel Bourne.

A major barrage at Farakka was opened on 21 April 1975, It is located close to the point where the main flow of the river enters Bangladesh, and the tributary Hooghly (also known as Bhagirathi ) continues in West Bengal past Calcutta. This barrage, which feeds the Hooghly branch of the river by a 26-mile (42 km) long feeder canal, and its water flow management has been a long-lingering source of dispute with Bangladesh. Indo-Bangladesh Ganges Water Treaty signed in December 1996 addressed some of the water sharing issues between India and Bangladesh.

Tehri Dam was constructed on Bhagirathi River, tributary of the Ganges. It's located 1.5 km downstream of Ganesh Prayag, the place where Bhilangana meets Bhagirathi. Bhagirathi is called Ganges after Devprayag. Construction of the dam in an earthquake prone area was controversial.

Economy

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The Ganges Basin with its fertile soil is instrumental to the agricultural economies of India and Bangladesh. The Ganges and its tributaries provide a perennial source of irrigation to a large area. Chief crops cultivated in the area include rice, sugarcane, lentils, oil seeds, potatoes, and wheat. Along the banks of the river, the presence of swamps and lakes provide a rich growing area for crops such as legumes, chillies, mustard, sesame, sugarcane, and jute. There are also many fishing opportunities to many along the river, though it remains highly polluted. Kanpur, largest leather producing city in the world is situated on the banks of this river.

Tourism is another related activity. Three towns holy to Hinduism– Haridwar, Allahabad, and Varanasi– attract thousands of pilgrims to its waters. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims arrive at these three towns to take a dip in the Ganges, which is believed to cleanse oneself of sins and help attain salvation. The rapids of the Ganges also are popular for river rafting, attracting hundreds of adventure seekers in the summer months.

Pollution and ecology

Main article: Pollution of the Ganges

The Ganges suffers from extreme pollution levels, which affect the 400 million people who live close to the river. Sewage from many cities along the river's course, industrial waste and religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics add large amounts of pollutants to the river as it flows through densely populated areas. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many poorer people rely on the river on a daily basis for bathing, washing, and cooking.

Varanasi, a city of one million people that many pilgrims visit to take a "holy dip" in the Ganges, releases around 200 million litres of untreated human sewage into the river each day, leading to large concentrations of faecal coliform bacteria. According to official standards, water safe for bathing should not contain more than 500 faecal coliforms per 100ml, yet upstream of Varanasi's ghats the river water already contains 120 times as much, 60,000 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml. After passing through Varanasi, and receiving 32 streams of raw sewage from the city, the concentration of faecal coliforms in the river's waters rises from 60,000 to 1.5 million, with observed peak values of 100 million per 100 ml. Drinking and bathing in its waters therefore carries a high risk of infection.

Between 1985 and 2000, Rs. 1,000 crore (Rs. 10 billion, around US$ 226 miilion) were spent on the Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative that has so far failed to address the problem. According to 2010 Planning Commission estimates, a further investment of almost Rs. 7,000 crore (Rs. 70 billion, approximately US$ 1.5 billion) is needed to clean up the river. In December 2009 the World Bank agreed to loan India US$ 1 billion over the next five years to help save the river.

In November 2008, the Ganges, alone among India's rivers, was declared a "National River", facilitating the formation of a Ganga River Basin Authority that would have greater powers to plan, implement and monitor measures aimed at protecting the river.

The river's long-held reputation as a purifying river appears to have some basis in science. Its waters have been found to have unusual antimicrobial properties, shortening the survival time of pathogens. The underlying mechanism is unknown; possible explanations include antimicrobial peptides and bacteriophages. Even so, the incidence of water-borne and enteric diseases – such as gastrointestinal disease, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid – among people who use the river's waters for bathing, washing dishes and brushing teeth is high, at an estimated 66% per year.

Water shortages

Along with ever-increasing pollution, water shortages are getting noticeably worse. Some sections of the river are already completely dry. Around Varanasi the river once had an average depth of 60 metres (200 ft), but in some places it is now only 10 metres (33 ft).

"To cope with its chronic water shortages, India employs electric groundwater pumps, diesel-powered tankers and coal-fed power plants. If the country increasingly relies on these energy-intensive short-term fixes, the whole planet's climate will bear the consequences. India is under enormous pressure to develop its economic potential while also protecting its environment—something few, if any, countries have accomplished. What India does with its water will be a test of whether that combination is possible."

The effects of climate change on the river

The Tibetan Plateau contains the world's third-largest store of ice. Qin Dahe, the former head of the China Meteorological Administration, said that the recent fast pace of melting and warmer temperatures will be good for agriculture and tourism in the short term; but issued a strong warning:

"Temperatures are rising four times faster than elsewhere in China, and the Tibetan glaciers are retreating at a higher speed than in any other part of the world.... In the short term, this will cause lakes to expand and bring floods and mudflows. . . . In the long run, the glaciers are vital lifelines for Asian rivers, including the Indus and the Ganges. Once they vanish, water supplies in those regions will be in peril."

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its Fourth Report, stated that the Himalayan glaciers which feed the river, were at risk of melting by 2035. The IPCC has now withdrawn that prediction, as the original source admitted that it was speculative and the cited source was not a peer reviewed finding. In its statement, the IPCC stands by its general findings relating to the Himalayan glaciers being at risk from global warming (with consequent risks to water flow into the Gangetic basin).

Ganges river dolphin

The Ganges River Dolphin, which used to exist in large schools near to urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is now seriously threatened by pollution and dams being built on the rivers. A recent survey by the World Wildlife Fund found only 3,000 left in the water catchment of both river systems.

See also

Notes

  1. The Ganga: water use in the Indian subcontinent, by Pranab Kumar Parua, p. 33
  2. http://www.zeenews.com/news587747.html
  3. Legends of Devi, by Sukumari Bhattacharji, Ramananda Bandyopadhyay, p. 54
  4. http://books.google.com/books?id=law3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA334&lpg=PA334&dq=patliputra+ganga+Maurya+capital&source=bl&ots=Wv2uHWbYbj&sig=d6xjgueBEtEG610yTObwt8q-qgM&hl=en&ei=W3WsTbu5E4uurAf7_oWoCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q&f=false An encyclopaedia of Indian archaeology By A. Ghosh page 334
  5. http://books.google.com/books?id=law3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA334&lpg=PA334&dq=patliputra+ganga+Maurya+capital&source=bl&ots=Wv2uHWbYbj&sig=d6xjgueBEtEG610yTObwt8q-qgM&hl=en&ei=W3WsTbu5E4uurAf7_oWoCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=kannauj&f=false An encyclopaedia of Indian archaeology By A. Ghosh page 199
  6. ^ "India and pollution: Up to their necks in it", The Economist, 27 July 2008.
  7. http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=29666
  8. ^ "Clean Up Or Perish", The Times of India, Mar 19, 2010
  9. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101101/dplus.htm#2
  10. Romila Thapar (October 1971). "The Image of the Barbarian in Early India". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 13 (4): 415.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  11. W. W. Tarn (1923). "Alexander and the Ganges". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 43 (2): 93–101.
  12. Stefano, Paolo Di (4 April 2011). "Io ricordo, memorie d'autore Lizzani: «Uso il cinema per conoscermi» «Incontrai Edith e Rossellini mi chiese: quando vi sposate? Stiamo insieme da 60 anni»". Corriere della Sera.it. Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 21 April 2011. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 29 (help)
  13. Stefano, Paolo Di. "Gian Lorenzo Bernini, piazza Navona, Fontana dei quattro fiumi, il Gange (clicca per la spiegazione)". www.gliscritti.it/. Gli Scritti Centro Culturale. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  14. "The Ganga". The official website of District Haridwar, Uttarakhand, INDIA. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  15. "Holy War for "My Mother"". Time Magazine, Heroes for the Planet: Heroes Gallery. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  16. Stefanovic, Karl (7 May 2010). "Taking the Plunge". 60 Minutes. Nine Network. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  17. http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/artists/George-Harrison/biography/page14.html
  18. "''Mahabharata'', Book 3, Sections 107–109". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  19. ^ Stephen Brichieri-Colombi and Robert W. Bradnock (March 2003). "Geopolitics, Water and Development in South Asia: Cooperative Development in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta". The Geographical Journal. 169 (1): 43–64.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  20. M. Rafiqul Islam (1987). "The Ganges Water Dispute: An Appraisal of a Third Party Settlement". Asian Survey. 27 (8): 918–934.
  21. Ramesh C. Sharma, Manju Bahuguna and Punam Chauhan (2008). "Periphytonic diversity in Bhagirathi:Preimpoundment study of Tehri dam reservoir" (PDF). Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering. 50 (4): 255–262.
  22. James N. Brune (15 February 1993). "The seismic hazard at Tehri dam". Tectonophysics. 218 (1-3): 281–286.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  23. Fred Pearce and Rob Butler (26 Januray 1991). "The dam that should not be built". NewScientist. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  24. "June 2003 Newsletter". Clean Ganga. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  25. Salemme, Elisabeth (22 January 2007). "The World's Dirty Rivers". Time. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  26. ^ Abraham, Wolf-Rainer. "Review Article. Megacities as Sources for Pathogenic Bacteria in Rivers and Their Fate Downstream". International Journal of Microbiology. 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/798292.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  27. ^ "Ganga can bear no more abuse". Times of India. 18 July 2009.
  28. "World Bank loans India $1bn for Ganges river clean up". BBC News. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  29. "Ganga gets a tag: national river – Vote whiff in step to give special status", The Telegraph, November 5, 2008
  30. Self-purification effect of bacteriophage, oxygen retention mystery: Mystery Factor Gives Ganges a Clean Reputation by Julian Crandall Hollick. National Public Radio.
  31. "How India's Success is Killing its Holy River." Jyoti Thottam. Time Magazine. 19 July 2010, pp. 12–17.
  32. "How India's Success is Killing its Holy River." Jyoti Thottam. Time Magazine. 19 July 2010, p. 15.
  33. (AFP) – 17 Aug 2009 (17 August 2009). "Global warming benefits to Tibet: Chinese official. Reported 18/Aug/2009". Google.com. Retrieved 28 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. "See s. 10.6 of the WGII part of the report at" (PDF). Retrieved 28 November 2010.
  35. The IPCC report is based on a non-peer reviewed work by the World Wildlife Federation. They, in turn, drew their information from an interview conducted by New Scientist with Dr. Hasnain, an Indian glaciologist, who admitted that the view was speculative. See: and On the IPCC statement withdrawing the finding, see:

References

Further reading

External links

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