Protecting Ganga River Linking Reverence To Effective Action
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Protecting Ganga River
Linking Reverence To Effective Action - extracted text
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Protecting Ganga River
Linking Reverence To Effective Action
Bharat Dogra
1998
Price : Rs 20 I- $3 or Equivalent Outside India
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This Book Is Dedicated To
Chipko Poet Ghanshyam Shailani1
1934-1997
Ghanshyam Shailani wrote, composed and sang songs which
went to the heart of the basic problems of Uttarakhand's people,
particularly the women. Whether it was the chipko movement for
saving forests, the struggle against Tehri dam, the anti-liquor
movement or the efforts to end animal, sacrifices, Shailani Ji
always managed to reach the various places of struggles and
Gandhian reform movements. Despite deteriorating health
conditions, he travelled to remote villages and forests to take the
message of relevant social change to hill-villagers.
People and activists present at several movements have told
moving stories of how the arrival of Shailani and his songs used
to impart a new life to the movement. His unselfish and dedicated
efforts endeared him to common people and other activists. He
never sought fame, one reason why he has remained relatively
less known despite his tremendous achievements. The people and
activists of Uttarakhand will never forget the poet who gave voice
to their inner-most feelings and sufferings.
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Protecting Ganga River
Linking Reverence To Effective Action
The tendency of looking upon nature as something to
be dominated and conquered has been responsible to a
significant extent for ecological ruin. Of course human
beings have to meet their various needs, obtain food,
clothing and shelter, and in the process they have to make
certain demands on nature, they have to obtain water from
rivers and food from land. It is certainly possible to do so
while maintaining an attitude of respect and co-existence
towards nature, preserving the clean and beautiful flow of
rivers and protecting the fertility of land. There is evidence
that in some ancient cultures there was an attitude of
reverence towards nature, an attitude which survived till
much later times among many indigenous groups. For
example, according to one summary of Mayan ethics in
New Internationalist Journal,
"According to the Guatemalan Mayan vision of the cosmos,
every form of life emerges from the same origin or seed. Some
seeds become trees, others flowers, others water, others human
beings. Thus each creature is inextricably linked to all others and
what one does to a tree affects not only the tree but oneself and
Other creatures. This inter-relatedness calls for profound respect
between people and their Creator, between people.and nature,
and among people themselves. The aim of the Maya is to keep
their relationships with the world around them, and also the inner
life of each person, in perfect balance according to the rhythms
of the cosmos."
3
This journal goes on to say that Mayan ideas have
much in common with those of other indigenous cultures
of the Americas, especially in their holism and respect for
the environment.
In 1855, the Indian Chief of Seattle responding to
pressures from the United States President to sell the land
of what in now Washington State, had this to say,
"How can we buy or sell the sky or the warmth of the land?
Such thoughts to us are inconceivable. We are not in possession
of the freshness of the air, or the water-bubbles. Every corner
of this land is holy to my people - They remain holy in the
memory of my people - from the sparkling pine leaves, the sandy
beaches and the mist of dark brooding forests, to the songs of
insects...
We know that white men do not understand our way of life
Land to him is not a brother but an enemy. After conquering a
piece he proceeds to the next...
Our God is the same God that you worship. His compassion
extends equally to white men and Indians. This land is precious
to Him and harming it, therefore, would be an insult to our
Creator."
However these views of nature increasingly came in
conflict with the tendency which existed even in ancient
times, of making excessive demands on nature, inflicting
grave damage on land and water sources, and thereby
sooner or late also bringing disaster on human beings. As
environment historian John Bellany Foster writes,
"The history of precapitalist and preindustrial societies
is thus full of examples of social collapse brought on by
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environmental depredations. History and archaeological
evidence suggests that the Sumerian, Indus Valley, Greek,
Phoenician,’ Romen and Mayan civilizations all collapsed
due in part to ecological factors."
Thus while attitude of reverence towards nature
certainly existed in ancient and indigenous traditions, they
should not be romanticised too much as the conflict with
other viewpoints based on excessive expansion and
exploitation appeared sooner or later in most places.
In the conflict of these views - one stressing conquest
of nature and the other stressing co-existence with nature
- the later attitude started asserting itself more and more
with the passage of time. The progress of science should
have opened our eyes to the dangers of making excessive
demands on nature but in reality something entirely
different happened. The unraveling of the mysteries of
nature appears to have decreased the awe of it, and
encouraged the view that as we know its secrets we can
conquer and dominate it.
Philosopher of science and one-time Lord-Chancellor
of England Sir Francis Bacon observed that the conquest
of nature constitutes, "the real business and fortune of the
human race." He said nature must be "bound into service"
and made a "slave."
Such a viewpoint cleared the way for and provided the
justification for very large-scale disruption of environment
in the last few centuries. However as rivers were turned
into sewer-lines, the rain became acidic, and even the life
giving sunshine was made hazardous by the depletion of
the ozone layer, during the last few decades there has
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been quite a significant upsurge for protection of
environment. A large number of scientists are now
involved at various levels in work relating to the protection
of environment. The message that saving environment is
of crucial importance to humankind has travelled far and
wide. In many interesting and diverse ways, the new
scientific facts have merged with some of the old-surviving
values to create public opinion on environment protection
which is strong but at the same time also vague and
uncertain of what actually should be the plan of action.
A recent book titled 'Environmental Values in American
Culture' by Willett Kempton, James Boster and Jennifer
Hartley recently reached the surprising conclusion that a
big majority endorsed three cultural models of nature
which say,
" • Nature is a limited resource, a closed system upon
which humans depend both physically and emotionally.
• Nature is made up of delicately balanced
interdependent parts; disrupting nature produces unpredictable
consequences including species extinctions. Human-caused
extinctions are morally wrong, both because species have
inherent value (a conviction derived in various ways) and for
utilitarian, prudential reasons Consequently, non-intervention in
nature is the preferred prescription.
• Market processes devalue nature Modern humans are
alienated from it, and indigenous peoples are commonly viewed
as the ideal environmentalist.
In a review article on this book Bron Taylor says in a
recent issue of Ecologist magazine -
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"The authors also found widespread affinity with biocentric
notions that non-human life has instrinsic value as well as
statements expressing "nature spirituality".
".. US historians of religion argue that nature-based religion
has been common in US history, while recent scholarship has
found that nature mysticism has animated many, if not most, of
the most influential US environmental activists during the past
one hundred years Environmental action in the United States
cannot be accounted for without understanding how frequently it
is grounded in religious, usually pagan, underpinnings, grounded
in perceptions and beliefs that the natural world is sacred."
Despite all this we have to reckon with the reality that
the life-style of the majority of people is highly destructive
to environment. As Bron Taylor explains,
"Perhaps widespread agreement with the above cultural
models of nature represents little more than a recitation of empty
truisms that bear little relation to environmental action. In the
light of other findings - such as only 18 per cent of Americans
express a willingness to work, earn and consume less as part
of an environmental strategy - such a conclusion seems equally
plausible to the authors more encouraging finding of widespread
environmental concern."
"Most religions have nominal members who, when surveyed,
will express agreement with their own tradition's propositions, but
whose behaviour is not congruent with such propositions.
Recognizing this common dynamic helps explain why, despite
widespread agreement with the posited cultural models of nature.
few become actively engaged in voluntary environmental action."
7
How Polluted Is The Ganga River
In India an attitude of reverence has existed for a long
time towards rivers, and nowhere has this been more
pronounced and emphatic than in the case of the Ganga
river. So many mythological tales and historical stories
have flown along its endless waters that this river and its
tributaries have become perhaps the most easily
recognised symbol of this land and its culture.
In Gita, Lord Krishna identifies his own self with the
Ganga river, and the Ganga and the various pilgrimages
along its path have always held a special religious
significance for Hindus. But the Ganga - Jamuna culture
extends beyond the confines of one religion - it includes
and represents the contribution of several faiths and
philosophies. The most commonly used identity of Ganga
is that of Ganga Maa. or Ganga Mother.
Jawaharlal Nehru has written, “The Ganga especially is
the river of India, beloved of her people, around which are
interwined her racial 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.
“...Smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and
dark and gloomy and full of mystery as the evening
shadows fall, a narrow, slow and graceful stream in the
winter, and a vast roaring thing during the monsoon,
broadbosomed almost as the sea, and with something of
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the sea's power to destroy, the Ganga has been to me a
symbol and memory of the past of India, running into the
present, and flowing on to the great ocean of the future.”
Keeping in view this special cultural significance of
river, any sincere effort to 'protect' Ganga river, in
particular to check its pollution and keep it clean, should
evoke strong emotional feelings leading to large-scale
mobilisation of people for this task. Somehow this has not
happened and the pollution of Ganga river and most of its
tributaries such as the Jamuna has reached alarming
levels. Although the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) project has
helped to some extent to check this, yet on the whole the
pollution as well as other disruptive impacts on Ganga
river remain an area of serious concern.
Scientists usually measure river water quality (in mg./
litre) by applying two standards. One is the biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD). This is a measure of the degree
of pollution - the higher the BOD, the lower the quality of
water. The second is dissolved oxygen (DO) - the more
the oxygen, the better the quality of water. According to
the Best Designated Use criteria of the Central Pollution
Control Board for Indian rivers, the desired designated
water quality of Ganga is the 'Bathing Class' which
stipulates, among other things, BOD of 3 and DO of 5.
In the early and mid-eighties (before launching GAP)
the absence of sewage treatment facilities in the over 100
towns and cities which discharged their wastes straight
into the Ganga river was identified as the most important
source of pollution. In addition heavy industrial pollution in
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some selected stretches was particularly responsible for
toxic waste. These points included the industrial belt of
Kanpur, a fertiliser complex near Phulpur and another
industrial complex near Mokameh bridge (in Bihar). In the
last zone in particular a large number of fish deaths were
reported. Several half burnt and unburned dead bodies
were also being thrown in Ganga river.
As a result of all this, the BOD at Several places along
the Ganga was found to be higher than the standard
maximum of 3mg/lt. It was 8.6 in Kanpur, 15.5 in Allahabad
and 10.6 is Varanasi. In terms of DO the minimum
standard of 5 mg/lt. was met at all these three places in
1986 as the DO level ranged between 6.4 and 8.5.
It was at this stage that the Rs 4.6 billion GAP plan
started in 1985 as a fully Central Funded Programme.
Under GAP Phasel pollution abatement works have been
taken up in 25 class I towns (population over 100
thousand in 1985). 261 schemes were sanctioned under
GAP - 88 schemes of interception and diversion of
sewage, 35 of sewage treatment, 43 of low cost toilets, 28
of electric crematoria, 35 of river front development and
another 32 of miscellaneous category. Originally planned
for just 6 years, GAP was later extended to nearly double
this period and targeted for completion in March 1997.
However there were further delays and a few schemes
have spilled into 1998.
Despite the fact that it was extended to almost double
its original time span, the objective of bringing BOD and
DO levels to desirable norms has not been fulfilled.
10
According to official data for 1996 BOD level at Kanpur
(4.1) and Allahabad (3.3) was still higher than the desirable
maximum norm of 3 mg/lit although the situation had
improved significantly compared to the 1986 levels. In
Varanasi BOD level in 1996 had been reported to be
below 3. The DO level in 1996 was higher than the desired
minimum level in all these three places but significantly,
the situation had become slightly worse in Kanpur where
the DO level had gone from 6.7 to 6.4.
To place the performance of GAP in perspective,
however it is important to have an idea of the limitations
and costs of treatment plants. The World Resources
Report (WRR) 1992-93 says, “Primary (physical) and
secondary (biological) treatment of sewage may remove
35 and 85 percent of pollutants in sewage, respectively
but they remove only 30 per cent of the phosphorous, 50
per cent of the nitrogen and 70 per cent of the most toxic
compounds. Advanced sewage treatment plants that can
further reduce specific pollutant levels cost twice as much
to build and four times as much to operate as secondary
treatment plants. Without regular maintenance and proper
operation, primary, secondary and advanced sewage
treatment plants will operate well below intended
standards."
This is particularly significant in the case of GAP as the
state governments have not been able to find the money
and the electricity to properly operate and maintain the
various facilities created after spending over 4 billion
rupees under GAP. An expert, R. P. Sharma, Adviser to
the National River Conservation' Directorate, recently
11
wrote, "Operation and maintenance of conveying sewers
and intermediate pumping stations, which is cost intensive,
is the sole responsibility of the State Governments. This
has also badly suffered due to the inability of the States
to provide adequate funds. As a result, despite the
facilities being available, sewage is still finding its way into
the river at several places. This has defeated the
purpose of the action plan."
He added that the inconsistent availability of power for
pumping stations, STPs and electric crematoria is a
bottleneck. In the event of power failure, untreated sewage
still finds its way into the river.
To return to the WRR, it says further, "Conventional
treatment of sewage does not eliminate the problem of
pathogens in sewage. To eliminate human pathogens, the
water discharged from sewage treatment plants is
sometimes treated with chlorine, which reacts with organic
chemicals to form carcinogenic chlorinated hydrocarbons.
The sludge produced by sewage treatment can also
pollute water, unless it is further treated and incinerated or
properly applied to land."
In the case of GAP even official sources have been
able to claim only "incidental reduction" in respect of the
microbial pollution (which is indicated by the coliform
counts). In the first week of December 1997, when the
preparations were being made for the Mahakumbh Mela
which attracts millions of pilgrims, some scientists of the
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute
(NEERI) shocked the nation by telling newspersons that
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they have found the Ganga water at Hardwar "to be
severely contaminated with bacterial and viral pathogens
which, alarmingly enough, have become resistant to the
normally administered antibiotics. Industrial effluents are
suspected to be the reason."
The analysis of water samples taken by -NEERI
scientists from Rishikesh and Hardwar revealed that the
water contained E. Goli (water quality indicator organism).
Salmonella (causative agent .for typhoid), Shigella
(causative agent for bacterial dysentery) and Vibrio
(causative agent for cholera) in huge numbers. The
resistance of several of these pathogens to routinely
administered antibiotics led NEERI director to warn that
pilgrims would really be quite defenseless if their doctors
had only conventional antibiotics to treat them.
As industrial effluents have been suspected as the
villain in this case, this reveals yet another serious
weakness of GAP which concentrated mainly on municipal
sewage.
However upstream of Hardwar and Rishikesh, even the
condition of sewage disposal is far from satisfactory as
untreated sewage from several towns and small urban
centres, including ironically pilgrim towns and temple
towns where the Ganga is worshipped, continues to create
serious pollution problems in Ganga river.
Recently, in Patna city after the holy bath of Chhath
festival on the bank of the Ganga, several devotees had
eruptions, red spots and other skin irritations all over their
body..
13
As late as mid-1997, 11 years after launching GAP, the
chairperson of Nagar Nigam working committee of
Varanasi, told a leading magazine, “What is the use of the
existing schemes? Most of the pumping stations and the
equipment in the STP liendle, and untreated sewage
enters the river just as before, because of lack of power
supplies.”
The city of Kanpur has been a particularly troublesome
area for pollution control as the pollution load from
municipal as well as industrial sources has been simply
too heavy for the dilution capacity of the Ganga river in this
stretch. At least some of the effluence of tanneries still
continues to flow directly into the river. A major problem
has been the use of highly hazardous chromium by these
units. A review in September 1997 showed that only a few
tanneries have installed chromium recovery units. What is
no less disturbing is the increased discharge of pollutants
into a tributary of the Ganga where the DO levels are
reported to have dipped so low as to endanger the survival
of aquatic life.
The role of dams in reducing the flow of river in some
critical areas, thereby greatly reducing their ability to
absorb and dilute the wastes, should also be stressed,
particularly in view of the large number of dam projects
that are being planned on the Ganga river and its
tributaries. Infact among the sources of selected
pollutants the WRR specifically mentions “dams that
reduce water flow”, “creation of reservoirs” and “reduced
discharges from dams”. Storage of water in artificial lakes
is known to adversely affect water quality, particularly when
compared to the water quality of a free flowing river.
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Deforestation, indiscriminate mining and quarrying,
farming practices which rely heavily on agri-chemicals - all
these are known to adversely affect the .quality of water,
and there is enough evidence that pollution from all these
sources has increased in recent decades, particularly from
the last source. This is true not only of the Ganga river but
also for most of its tributaries.
The pollution of Yamuna in particular is becoming a
major concern. In February 1996 two of Delhi's major
water treatment plants had to be shut down for several
hours, causing a major drinking water shortage, as the
water entering the city was too polluted for effective
treatment. This year Central Pollution Control Board told
the Delhi High Court, "The pollution of the Yamuna river
from domestic discharges from Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida,
Faridabad, Mathura and Agra has rendered the river unfit
for any beneficial use. Until stringent measures are taken
to alleviate these pollution loads, the raw water quality of
Agra cannot be improved and there is always a high rvsk
of any epidemic in Agra."
Thus the problem appears even bigger if tributaries are
included. It is good that under GAP Phase II some of the
major tributaries of the Ganga like Yamuna, Gomati and
Damodar are also being covered In July’the Central
Government also decided to provide complete funding to
all new projects under GAP Phase II. (Earlier states were
supposed to provide 50% of the cost of the projects). This
is encouraging, but for GAP Phase II to be more effective
than its earlier phase, it should move beyond the ‘pumps
and pipes' stage and genuinely involve the people in the
sacred task of protecting 'Ganga Maa’.
15
People's Movements
The Ganga has always inspired a very special devotion
among Indians, so much so that any other river considered
sacred by people is also frequently given the name
Ganga. It is interesting that several mythological stories
have ecological connotations. Some examples - Bhagirath
persuading the goddess Ganga to came down form
heaven to earth, Lord Shiva capturing the torrential water
in his hair so that the earth is not damaged, the Ganga
vanishing due to bad actions (Sage Jahnu gulping its water
in anger) and reappearing due to good actions.
The faith in Ganga even gets the support of modern
science when scientists confirm Ganga's unique self
cleansing abilities and the longevity of its water ( it does
not putrefy even after long periods of storage).
If despite these highly remarkable qualities the Ganga
water has become very polluted and is now seen by
scientists as a major potential source of spread of
infectious diseases, then clearly the destruction wrought
by us has been quite massive.
The ancient faith in Ganga, bolstered by recent
scientific confirmation of the special qualities of its water
should have provided a strong base for a people’s
movement to protect and clean the Ganga. Instead people
have been regularly congregating at the periodic melas to
have their holy baths (in the process adding to the
pollution of the Ganga, according to a recent statement by
a scientist of the Central Pollution Control Board) while the
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pollution of the Ganga (and its tributaries and other rivers)
has gone on unabated. How the faith of the people can be
extended beyond empty (sometimes even harmful) rituals
and linked to the protection and cleaning of Ganga is a
question that needs to be examined seriously.
The changes taking place in the Ganga and its
tributaries are linked to the livelihood of a large number of
people living in the Ganga river basin, most of whom are
poor. If the protection of Ganga river can be taken up in
such a way that it gets linked up with resolving the
livelihood crisis faced by people, then this will be perhaps
the best way of securing the sustained participation of a
large number of people in the protection of Ganga.
There is enough evidence now that dams can
adversely affect most types of fish for a wide stretch of
the river. Speaking in the Indian context, V. G. Jhingran,
former Director of the Central Inland Fisheries Research
Institute, has said - “The river valley development
programmes adversely affect both the migratory and the
non-migratory species of fish. Dams, weirs and barrages
act as physical barriers to migration tending to prevent
access of the fish to their usual breeding, rearing and
feeding grounds. The denial of migration may result in a
permanent and irrevocable reduction of fish stocks
ranging from lowering the levels of abundance to complete
extermination."
Another serious crisis to river fisheries comes from the
increasing pollution of rivers. Large-scale fish deaths have
been reported from Ganga, its tributaries and several
rivers in India; not quite so dramatic but equally serious is
17
the gradual reduction in fish populations as a result of the
decline in water quality due to pollution related factors.
In many places the impact of river valley projects and
pollution add to each other. The construction of dams and
the subsequent withdrawal of water for irrigation or other
purposes greatly reduces the river flow in some places. It
is this reduced flow which has to bear the increasing
burden of various kinds of pollutants, making it ,most
difficult for fish to survive.
River fisherfolk are also frequently asked to pay
several taxes and even illegal extortions which, keeping in
view the reduced earnings from their traditional
occupation, it is extremely difficult for them to continue
paying. The burden of such cash payments can make it
very difficult for them to continue their traditional
occupation. Although the price of several river fish
species has increased significantly in recent years, a
significant share of this hike goes to traders and not to the
actual fisherfolk.
To protect the livelihood of these fisherfolk, both
immediate and long-term measures are required. Some
relief can be provided immediately be checking illegal
extortions and reducing the burden of taxes. Some
significant steps have already been taken in this context in
Bihar largely due to the efforts of Ganga Mukti Andolan, a
movement of river fisherfolk in this state. This beginning
can be followed in other states. Such movements have
also helped to protect boatmen from illegal extortions.
Reducing pollution and maintaining good river flow will
help the livelihood of fisherfolk and boatmen, and this will
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also protect the Ganga. The linking up of these two
activities has to be done by people's movements
supported by appropriate government policies.
Badly flood affected people constitute another
category of people whose livelihood issues can be linked
up with the protection of Ganga river. In particular the
condition of flood affected people in East U.P. and North
Bihar is very bad as the embankment based flood-control
effort has turned against them and is responsible to a
large extent for the accentuation of the flood problem.
In Bihar nearly 3,500 km embankments have been
constructed during the last four to five decades. What is
the net result of this? In 1954, when the length of
embankment here was negligible, the flood-prone area
was 2.5 million hectares. By 1995 embankments had been
created for a length of 3,465 km but the flood-prone area
had also increased (instead of decreasing) to 7.1 million
hectares.
Ironically, this distorted approach to flood-control was
adopted despite well known limitations and problems of
embankments particularly in areas like east UP and north
Bihar where rivers bring huge loads of silt. As
accumulation of silt raised the bed of rivers, the protection
afforded by embankments diminished. New problems also
emerge at the point where tributaries meet the main river.
Due to the higher bed of the main river, the tributaries
cannot discharge their water and flood new areas. The
rising river bed also caused seepage on the other side,
leading to waterlogging and spread of diseases like
malaria and kala-azar.
19
Embankments also prevented free flow of rain water,
leading to water-logging in areas where it was unknown
before. Worse was the plight of several hundred thousand
people caught between the river and the embankment
They had to bear more frequent and more destructive
floods. There were several promises to rehabilitate them
properly at a new place but generally these promises were
not fulfilled.
These problems were ignored and the construction of
embankments was pursued vigorously because massive
corruption in this work led to the enrichment of powerful
persons. The same phenomenon was responsible for
poor construction, inadequate provision of drainage,
culverts and neglect of maintenance. The predictable
result was that there were many breaches leading to very
destructive floods. The floods caused by embankment
breaches are much more intense and hence more
destructive compared to ordinary floods.
To cope with this worsening problem of floods,
organisations like Barh Mukti Abhiyan (freedom from
floods campaign) in Bihar and Sahyog in east UP are
demanding a basic change in the approach to flood
control and water-logging. These organisations stress that
flood control should be rid of existing vested interests and
instead this should be debated openly among ordinary
people so that flood-control can benefit from the real-life
experiences and knowledge of people. Such efforts can
be and should be linked to the broader issue of the
protection of Ganga.
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A large number of people in the Ganga basin are
threatened by displacement due to the construction of
large dams on these rivers. These can be replaced by
smaller run-of-the-river projects which avoid displacement
and the people who have been saved from displacement
can be involved in many sided programmes to protect the
Ganga river.
Villagers and nomadic herdsmen particularly in hilly
catchment areas can be involved in forest protection
programmes which protect the forests as well as their
livelihood. Their efforts to oppose indiscriminate mining
practices particularly in sensitive catchment areas'should
be encouraged. Nomads of hill areas can play an
important role in giving information about any damage
done in remote hill areas of rivers, particularly from
landslides or anticipated landslides.
Many more such examples can be given where the
efforts to save the livelihood of poor people can be linked
to the broader task of protecting the Ganga and its
tributaries.
Wherever the Ganga river and its tributaries flow,
members .of the elected panchayats and zila parishads
etc. should be closely involved in the protection of the
rivers. The invaluable knowledge of people regarding
technology which suits local conditions should be fully
tapped while implementing the second phase of GAP.
(And more generally the National River Conservation
Plan). A board consensus should be created by involving
community leaders around the belief that the real 'punya'
05282
or good deed exists in contributing to the cleaning and
proper maintenance of rivers and other water sources, and
not in outdated rituals which can sometimes even harm the
rivers.
Ganga River System
The Ganga (or the Ganges) river flows for over two and a half
thousand kms. in India before merging into the Bay of Bengal. In
addition there is another branch of this great river called the
Padma, which separates itself 40 kms. above Farakka in West
Bengal and flows through Bangladesh towards Bay of Bengal.
At its point of origin in Garhwal Himalaya the Ganga is known
as the Bhagirathi. Receiving several hill rivers and streams such
as the Bhilanagana, the Bhagirathi reaches Devprayag where it
receives an important tributary Alaknanda. From this place
onwards the river is called Ganga. The river emerges into plains
at Rishikesh. In its further flow in the state of Uttar Pradesh the
river is joined by the Ramganga (left bank, near Kannauj), the
Yamuna (right bank, near Allahabad), Tons (31 kms. downstream)
and Gomti (boundary of Varanasi and Ghazipur districts). The
Karamnasa river also joins the Ganga river after forming a border
between U.P. and Bihar.
While the Yamuna and Ramganga rise like the Ganga in
Garhwal Himalaya region, the Tons and the Karamnasa originate
in the Kaimur hills while the Gomti originates near Pilibhit town.
The Sarada river rises north of the great Himalayan range from
glaciers of Zaskara. Many tributaries from India and Nepal join this
river, which is called by different names of Kali, Mahakali and
Sarada.
22
In its further march in the state of Bihar, the Ganga receives
several rivers from Nepal and Bihar. These include the Ghaghra
(also known as the Karnali in Nepal) which merges into the Ganga
a few kms. downstream of Chapra, the Gandak which joins the
Ganga near Patna, the Adhwara system of rivers and the Kosi
which joins the Ganga through a number of channels near
Manibarighat The Kosi. has seven arms in Nepal, the major ones
being the Sun Kosi, the Arun (origin in Nepal) and the Tamur.
Other rivers which join the Ganga in Bihar include the Sone
which rises in Maikala hills and which joins the Ganga 16 kms
upstream of Danapur, the Pun Pun and the Kiul which arise in the
Chotanagpur hills and join the Ganga in Patna and Monghyr
districts respectively.
The Burhi Gandak arises in Champaran district and joins the
Ganga near Monghyr.
The rivers which merge into the Ganga in West Bengal (fully
or partially) include the Mahananda, the Dwarka, the Ajay, the
Damodar, the Rupnarayan and the Haldi In West Bengal the river
a little below Farakka is called the Bhagirathi and further
downstream after its confluence with Jalangi tributary, it is called
the Hooghly. After Diamond Harbour the river flows southwards till
it merges into the Bay of Bengal. Here the mouth of the river is
about 25 kms wide.
23
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PhotoiJyoti Kumar
“The Ganga especially is the river of India, beloved of her
people, around which are interwined her racial 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.
"...Smiling and dancing in the morning sunlight, and dark
and gloomy and full of mystery as the evening shadows fall,
a narrow, slow and graceful stream in the winter, and a vast
roaring thing during the monsoon, broadbosomed almost as
the sea, and with something of the sea's power to destroy, the
Ganga has been to me a symbol and memory of the past of
India, running into the present, and flowing on to the great
ocean of the future.”
Jawaharlal Nehru
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