Ganges river- the untold facts

The Ganges is certainly the holy river for all Hindus. But Ganga is not only holy but there are reasons behind why it is so important to all civilization.

I went to Northern India for a tour and I brought back some Ganga water with me in a normal plastic can I bought it from a local store.  Although there is a lot of pollution on the river side so you need to ask some one to get it from deep inside.

Normally, any water that stays for too long tends to produce some bacteria or goes stale. But, it was surprising that even after 1.5 yrs it’s the same and drinkable.

So It lifted up my curiosity and I went back to do some research on it.

So here are some untold facts about the Ganges.

1.       The Ganges is not only holy water but cure to many diseases/infections.

IMTECH (Institute if Microbial Technology, Chandigarh is the first ever where the scientist have come across new viruses useful to treat many infections. Dr.Mayilraj ,Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-IMTECH says he and his team has identified 20-25 interesting viruses, which could be used for treatment of Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium), Typhoid (Salmonella), pneumonia (Klebsiella and Acinetobacter), chlorea (Vibrio), dysentery(Shigella), diarrhea(Aeromonoas) Meningitis (Cronobacter), etc.

2.       Ganges hold 25 times more oxygen than any other water.

D.S. Bhargava, an Indian environmental engineer/professor of hydrology have worked hard since a long time studying the properties of Ganges. He measured the self-cleaning ability in as long as three years of study which showed that the Ganges is capable enough to cut its biochemical oxygen demand levels faster than other rivers! D.S.Bhargava says that the Ganges cleans up suspended wastes 15 to 20 times faster when compared to other rivers! Due to which it holds up to 25 times more oxygen than any other water.

3.       River Dolphins found in the Ganges while it's mostly extinct from other regions.

Ganges river dolphins were officially discovered in 1801. Once these dolphins were found in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna and Karnaphuli and the Sangu river of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. But now its extinct from most of its water ranges. Ganges river dolphin can only live in fresh water and mostly blind. They are mostly in a small group as small as a mother and her calf. The Ganges river dolphin is important because it is a reliable indicator of the health of the entire ecosystem. The government of India declared it the National Aquatic Animal in 2009.

4.       Ganga has been given the rights of living entities by the High court. WOW

Although all the amazing facts about the Ganges, no one can refuse that it is highly polluted. Indian Government has formulated the GANGA ACTION PLAN,  on 14^th Jan 1986. But it terribly fails due to lack of co-operation from the Indian citizens. Since Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister of India have been elected, he has been in action and motivating the citizens to work towards Gange's cleaning. So far, the pollution has decreased but still, the Ganges is too polluted to recover so soon. Meanwhile. Uttrakhand High Court has declared the Ganges living entities bestowing on her legal rights as a person, a move that could help in efforts to clean the pollution-choked river. Earlier, New Zealand’s Whanganui River was the only river in the world that have been granted living entity status.

The Namami Gange is the Modi’s government’s ambitious plan that brings together various efforts for cleaning and conserving the river.

I hope the Ganges flows pure forever blessing all the living forms and wish Indian government may work towards the success of Namami Gange Plan.