South Asia: India, Giant of the Subcontinent - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 244

Figure 8-19
Here on the ghats (steps) of Ganga Ma at
V aranasi (Benares or Kashi—City of Light),
throngs come at dawn to assuage their sins and
suffering. Each supplicant has her own way of
worshipping. Some totally immerse themselves;
others drink the water . Most make offerings of
marigolds and take some sacred water home with
them. Sewerage and factory waste along with
dead animals and partially-cremated human
corpses moil about in this sacred water; Hindus
believe that the water is pure.
© David Zimmerman/Masterfile.

Industrial discharge from the Ganges is grow-
ing at 8 percent a year. With increased population
and industrialization, how can the river possibly
possess enough BOD to clean itself and flush out
the dangerous chemicals?
Consider these facts. Nearly 70 percent of
India' is available water is polluted, and water-
borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera are
responsible for 80 percent of all health problems

and a third of all deaths. Only 7 percent of
India' s cities have any kind of sewage treatment
services.
In 1985, there was a plan to clean up the river.
However, corruption, mismanagement, and techno-
logical errors rendered the plan useless. “A funda-
mental reason for the failure was that most of those
who have a stake in the river' s health were never in-
cluded in the planning” (Sampat, 1996).

Figure 8-20
Untreated effluent pours into Ganga Ma all along
its banks. This scene is at V aranasi (Benares or
Kashi—City of Light).
© John McConnico/AP/Wide World Photos.