Editing Ganges (section)

==Pollution and environmental concerns==
{{main|Pollution of the Ganges}}
[[File:Cremation in Varanasi.jpg|thumb|Burning ''[[Ghats in Varanasi|ghats]]'' in [[Varanasi]]; the ashes of the dead are released along the banks of the Ganges.<ref name="Natgeo 2014">{{cite magazine |last=McBride |first=Pete |date=7 August 2014 |title=The Pyres of Varanasi: Breaking the Cycle of Death and Rebirth |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/the-pyres-of-varanasi-breaking-the-cycle-of-death-and-rebirth |url-status=dead |magazine=[[National Geographic]] |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |issn=0027-9358 |oclc=643483454 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425202234/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/the-pyres-of-varanasi-breaking-the-cycle-of-death-and-rebirth |archive-date=25 April 2022 |access-date=1 October 2022}}</ref>]]
[[File:Clothing by the river.jpg|thumb|People bathing and washing clothes along the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi]]

The Ganges suffers from extreme pollution levels,<ref>{{cite journal|title=River Ganga pollution: Causes and failed management plans|journal=Environment International|volume=126|pages=202–206|doi=10.1016/j.envint.2019.02.033|pmid=30802637|date=May 2019|last1=Chaudhary|first1=M.|last2=Walker|first2=T. R.|doi-access=free}}</ref> caused by the 400&nbsp;million people who live close to the river.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cleanganga.com/newsletter/index.php |title=June 2003 Newsletter |publisher=Clean Ganga |access-date=16 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518135014/http://www.cleanganga.com/newsletter/index.php |archive-date=18 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1581251,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126170535/http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1581251,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=26 January 2007 | magazine=Time | title=The World's Dirty Rivers | date=22 January 2007 | access-date=3 May 2010 | first=Elisabeth | last=Salemme}}</ref> 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.<ref name=cleanperish/>{{sfn|Abraham|2011}}<ref name=Behteri4>{{cite news|author=Akanksha Jain|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/draw-plan-to-check-ganga-pollution-by-sugar-mills/article5939897.ece|title=Draw plan to check Ganga pollution by sugar mills|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=23 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=19 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819064050/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/draw-plan-to-check-ganga-pollution-by-sugar-mills/article5939897.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/447339-delivering-clean-water-to-vulnerable-communities-on-the-ganga |title=Delivering clean water to vulnerable communities on the Ganga |access-date=14 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url= https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133926 |title= A comprehensive assessment of macro and microplastics from Rivers Ganga and Yamuna: Unveiling the seasonal, spatial and risk factors |date= 2024 |doi= 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133926 |access-date=14 April 2024 |last1= Gupta |first1= Priyansha |last2= Saha |first2= Mahua |last3= Naik |first3= Akshata |last4= Kumar |first4= M. Manish |last5= Rathore |first5= Chayanika |last6= Vashishth |first6= Shrish |last7= Maitra |first7= Shukla Pal |last8= Bhardwaj |first8= K.D. |last9= Thukral |first9= Harsh |journal= Journal of Hazardous Materials |volume= 469 |pmid= 38484661 |bibcode= 2024JHzM..46933926G |url-access= subscription }}</ref> The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many poorer people rely on the river on a daily basis for bathing, washing, and cooking.{{sfn|Abraham|2011}} The [[World Bank]] estimates that the health costs of [[water pollution in India]] equal three percent of India's GDP.{{efn|name=bharati}} It has also been suggested that eighty percent of all illnesses in India and one-third of deaths can be attributed to water-borne diseases.{{efn|name=puttick}}

Varanasi, a city of one million people that many pilgrims visit to take a "holy dip" in the Ganges, releases around 200&nbsp;million liters of untreated human sewage into the river each day, leading to large concentrations of [[fecal coliform]] bacteria.{{sfn|Abraham|2011}} According to official standards, water safe for bathing should not contain more than 500 fecal coliforms per 100 ml, yet upstream of [[Ghats in Varanasi|Varanasi's ghats]] the river water already contains 120 times as much, 60,000 fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml.<ref name="economist2008-ganges-pollution">[http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11751397 "India and pollution: Up to their necks in it"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612093603/http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11751397 |date=12 June 2009 }}, ''[[The Economist]]'', 27 July 2008.</ref><ref name=nomoreabuse>{{cite news | title = Ganga can bear no more abuse | date = 18 July 2009 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Ganga-can-bear-no-more-abuse/articleshow/4792921.cms | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111103163826/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-18/varanasi/28183373_1_ganga-action-plan-river-water-sewage-treatment-plants | url-status = live | work = [[The Times of India]] | archive-date = 3 November 2011 }}</ref>

After the [[cremation]] of the deceased at Varanasi's ghats, the bones and ashes are immersed into the Ganges. However, in the past thousands of uncremated bodies were thrown into the Ganges during [[cholera]] epidemics, spreading the disease. Even today, holy men, pregnant women, people with [[leprosy]] or [[chicken pox]], people who have been bitten by snakes, people who have committed suicide, the poor, and children under 5 are not cremated at the ghats but are left to float free, to decompose in the waters. In addition, those who cannot afford the large amount of wood needed to incinerate the entire body, leave behind many half-burned body parts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1343&catid=55&subcatid=354|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016111431/http://factsanddetails.com/world.php?itemid=1343&catid=55&subcatid=354|url-status=dead|title=Hindu Funderals, Cremation and Varanasi|archive-date=16 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelpod.co.uk/travel-blog-entries/miller-stone/1/1293729235/tpod.html#ixzz1W7q8JJhI|title=Miller-stone's Travel Blog: Varanasi: The Rich, The Poor, and The Afterlife|date=14 December 2010}}</ref>

After passing through Varanasi, and receiving 32 streams of raw sewage from the city, the concentration of fecal coliforms in the river's waters rises from 60,000 to 1.5&nbsp;million,<ref name="economist2008-ganges-pollution"/><ref name=nomoreabuse/> with observed peak values of 100&nbsp;million per 100 ml.{{sfn|Abraham|2011}} Drinking and bathing in its waters therefore carries a high risk of infection.{{sfn|Abraham|2011}}

Between 1985 and 2000, [[Indian rupee|Rs.]] 10&nbsp;billion, around US$226&nbsp;million, or less than 4 cents per person per year,<ref>{{cite news|title=Journey of River Ganga, from Purest to the Dirtiest river of the World –|publisher=Mobile Site India TV News|url=http://m.indiatvnews.com/news/india/river-ganga-purest-river-dirtiest-river-37927.html/page/7|work=m.indiatvnews.com|language=en|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808033348/http://m.indiatvnews.com/news/india/river-ganga-purest-river-dirtiest-river-37927.html/page/7|url-status=dead}}</ref> were spent on the [[Ganga Action Plan]],<ref name=cleanperish/> an environmental initiative that was "the largest single attempt to clean up a polluted river anywhere in the world".{{efn|name=singh}} The Ganga Action Plan has been described variously as a "failure"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/indias-long-term-effort-to-clean-up-pollution-in-sacred-ganga-river |title=India's effort to clean up sacred but polluted Ganga River |publisher=pbs.org |date=16 December 2009 |access-date=4 July 2012 |archive-date=12 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212170449/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/indias-long-term-effort-to-clean-up-pollution-in-sacred-ganga-river |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=mandal/>{{efn|1= {{harvtxt|Caso|Wolf|2010}}<br />"Chronology: 1985 *India launches Phase I of the Ganga Action Plan to restore the Ganges River; most deem it a failure by the early 1990s." (p. 320)
----}}{{efn|1= {{harvtxt|Dudgeon|2005}}<br />"To reduce the water pollution in one of Asia's major rivers, the Indian Government initiated the Ganga Action Plan in 1985. The objective of this centrally funded scheme was to treat the effluent from all the major towns along the Ganges and reduce pollution in the river by at least 75%. The Ganga Action Plan built upon the existing but weakly enforced, 1974 Water Prevention and Control Act. A government audit of the Ganga Action Plan in 2000 reported limited success in meeting effluent targets. Development plans for sewage treatment facilities were submitted by only 73% of the cities along the Ganges, and only 54% of these were judged acceptable by the authorities. Not all the cities reported how much effluent was being treated, and many continued to discharge raw sewage into the river. Test audits of installed capacity indicated poor performance, and there were long delays in constructing planned treatment facilities. After 15 yr. of implementation, the audit estimated that the Ganga Action Plan had achieved only 14% of the anticipated sewage treatment capacity. The environmental impact of this failure has been exacerbated by the removal of large quantities of irrigation water from the Ganges which offset any gains from effluent reductions."
----}} and a "major failure".{{efn|name=haberman|1= {{harvtxt|Haberman|2006}}<br />"The Ganga Action Plan, commonly known as GAP, was launched dramatically in the holy city of Banares (Varanasi) on 14 June 1985, by Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]], who promised, {{'}}We shall see that the waters of the Ganga become clean once again.{{'}} The stated task was {{'}}to improve water quality, permit safe bathing all along the 2,525 kilometers from the Ganges's origin in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, and make the water potable at important pilgrim and urban centres on its banks.{{'}} The project was designed to tackle pollution from twenty-five cities and towns along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal by intercepting, diverting, and treating their effluents. With the GAP's Phase II, three important tributaries—Damodar, Gomati, and Yamuna—were added to the plan. Although some improvements have been made to the quality of the Ganges's water, many people claim that the GAP has been a major failure. The environmental lawyer M. C. Mehta, for example, filed public interest litigation against the project, claiming {{'}}GAP has collapsed.{{'}}"
----}}{{efn|name=gardner|1={{harvtxt|Gardner|2003}}<br />"The Ganges, also known as the Ganga, is one of the world's major rivers, running for more than 2,500 kilometres from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is also one of the most polluted, primarily from sewage, but also from animal carcasses, human corpses, and soap, and other pollutants from bathers. Indeed, scientists measure fecal coliform levels at thousands of times what is permissible and levels of oxygen in the water are similarly unhealthy. Renewal efforts have centred primarily on the government-sponsored Ganga Action Plan (GAP), started in 1985 intending to clean up the river by 1993. Several western-style sewage treatment plants were built along the river, but they were poorly designed, poorly maintained, and prone to shut down during the region's frequent power outages. The GAP has been a colossal failure, and many argue that the river is more polluted now than it was in 1985." (p. 166)
----}}{{efn|name=bharati|1= {{harvtxt|Bharati|2006}}<br />"The World Bank estimates the health costs of water pollution in India to be equivalent to three per cent of the country's gross domestic product. With Indian rivers being severely polluted, interlinking them may actually increase these costs. Also, with the widely recognised failure of the Ganga Action Plan, there is a danger that contaminants from the Gangetic basin might enter other basins and destroy their natural cleansing processes. The new areas that will be river-fed after the introduction of the scheme may experience crop failures or routing due to alien compounds carried into their streams from the polluted Gangetic basin streams." (p. 26)
----}}

According to one study,<ref name=mandal>{{Citation|last=Mandal|first=R. B.|title=Water Resource Management|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|year=2006|isbn=978-8180693182}}</ref> <blockquote>
The Ganga Action Plan, which was taken on priority and with much enthusiasm, was delayed for two years. The expenditure was almost doubled. But the result was not very appreciable. Much expenditure was done on political propaganda. The concerning governments and the related agencies were not very prompt to make it a success. The public of the areas was not taken into consideration. The release of urban and industrial wastes in the river was not controlled fully. The flowing of dirty water through drains and sewers were not adequately diverted. The continuing customs of burning dead bodies, throwing carcasses, washing of dirty clothes by washermen, and immersion of idols and cattle wallowing were not checked. Very little provision of public latrines was made and the open defecation of [[lakh]]s of people continued along the riverside. All these made the Action Plan a failure.</blockquote>

The failure of the Ganga Action Plan has also been variously attributed to "environmental planning without proper understanding of the human-environment interactions",{{efn|name=singh|1= {{harvtxt| Singh|Singh|2007}}<br />"In February 1985, the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan, an environmental project to improve the river water quality. It was the largest single attempt to clean up a polluted river anywhere in the world and has not achieved any success in terms of preventing pollution load and improvement in the water quality of the river. Failure of the Ganga Action Plan may be directly linked with environmental planning without proper understanding of the human-environment interactions. The bibliography of selected environmental research studies on the Ganga River is, therefore, an essential first step for preserving and maintaining the Ganga River ecosystem in future."
----}} Indian "traditions and beliefs",{{efn|1= {{harvtxt|Tiwari|2008}}<br />"Many social traditions and customs are not only helping in environmental degradation but are causing obstruction to environmental management and planning. The failure of the Ganga Action Plan to clean the sacred river is partly associated with our traditions and beliefs. The disposal of dead bodies, the immersion of idols, and public bathing are part of Hindu customs and rituals which are based on the notion that the sacred river leads to the path of salvation, and under no circumstances its water can become impure. Burning of dead bodies through wood, bursting of crackers during Diwali, putting thousands of tonnes of fuelwood under fire during Holi, immersion of Durga and Ganesh idols into rivers and seas, etc. are part of Hindu customs and are detrimental to the environment. These and many other rituals need rethinking and modification in the light of contemporary situations." (p. 92)
----}} "corruption and a lack of technical knowledge"{{efn|name=sheth|1= {{harvtxt|Sheth|2008}}<br />"But the Indian government, as a whole, appears typically ineffective. Its ability to address itself to a national problem like environmental degradation is typified by the 20-year, $100 million Ganga Action Plan, whose purpose was to clean up the Ganges River. Leading Indian environmentalists call the plan a complete failure, due to the same problems that have always beset the government: poor planning, corruption, and a lack of technical knowledge. The river, they say, is more polluted than ever." (pp. 67–68)
----}} and "lack of support from religious authorities".{{efn|name=puttick}}

In December 2009 the World Bank agreed to loan India US$1&nbsp;billion over the next five years to help save the river.<ref name=BBC_Ganges_World_Bank>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8392118.stm |title=World Bank loans India $1bn for Ganges river clean up |work=BBC News |date=3 December 2009 |access-date=28 November 2010 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822112135/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8392118.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to 2010 Planning Commission estimates, an investment of almost Rs. 70&nbsp;billion (Rs. 70&nbsp;billion, approximately US$1.5&nbsp;billion) is needed to clean up the river.<ref name=cleanperish/>

In November 2008, the Ganges, alone among India's rivers, was declared a "National River", facilitating the formation of a [[National Ganga River Basin Authority]] that would have greater powers to plan, implement and monitor measures aimed at protecting the river.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081108084537/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081105/jsp/nation/story_10065466.jsp "Ganga gets a tag: national river – Vote whiff in step to give special status"], ''[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph]]'', 5 November 2008</ref>

In July 2014, the Government of India announced an integrated Ganges-development project titled ''Namami Gange Programme'' and allocated {{INR}}2,037&nbsp;[[crore]] for this purpose.<ref>{{cite web|title=Namami Ganga development Project gets 2037 crores|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/07/namami-ganga-development-project-gets-2037-crores/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=10 July 2014|archive-date=31 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531074720/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/07/namami-ganga-development-project-gets-2037-crores/|url-status=live}}</ref> The main objectives of the Namami Gange project is to improve the water quality by the abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of river Ganga by creating infrastructures like sewage treatment plants, river surface cleaning, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, and public awareness.<ref>{{cite web |title=Namami Gange Programme |url=https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx |website=nmcg.nic.in |access-date=27 November 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817190528/https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2017 the [[High Court of Uttarakhand]] declared the Ganges River a [[Legal personality|legal "person"]], in a move that according to one newspaper, "could help in efforts to clean the pollution-choked rivers".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Trivedi |first1=Anupam |last2=Jagati |first2=Kamal |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/uttarakhand-hc-says-ganga-is-india-s-first-living-entity-grants-it-rights-equal-to-humans/story-VoI6DOG71fyMDihg5BuGCL.html |title=Uttarakhand HC declares Ganga, Yamuna living entities, gives them legal rights |location=Dehradun/Nainital |work=Hindustan Times |date=22 March 2017 |access-date=5 April 2017 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111433/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/uttarakhand-hc-says-ganga-is-india-s-first-living-entity-grants-it-rights-equal-to-humans/story-VoI6DOG71fyMDihg5BuGCL.html |url-status=live }}</ref> {{As of|2017|04|06}}, the ruling has been commented on in Indian newspapers to be hard to enforce,<ref name=mint>{{citation needed|date= April 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/gsttRTScpIuLTXreHqwvkN/Rights-of-rivers-hard-to-enforce.html|last=De Sarkar|first=Dipankar|title=Rights of rivers, hard to enforce|date=24 March 2017|newspaper=Live Mint|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=20 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820101010/http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/gsttRTScpIuLTXreHqwvkN/Rights-of-rivers-hard-to-enforce.html|url-status=live}}</ref> that experts do not anticipate immediate benefits,<ref name= mint/> that the ruling is "hardly game changing",<ref name=hindu>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-river-as-being/article17669377.ece|last=Ghosh|first=Shibani|title=The river as being|date=27 March 2017|newspaper=The Hindu|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=22 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822112135/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/the-river-as-being/article17669377.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> that experts believe "any follow-up action is unlikely",<ref name=econtimes>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-granting-legal-rights-to-rivers-like-the-ganga-change-on-ground-situation/articleshow/57818653.cms|last=Goswami|first=Urmi|title=Will granting legal rights to rivers like the Ganga, change the on-ground situation?|date=25 March 2017|newspaper=Economic Times|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=30 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830203814/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/will-granting-legal-rights-to-rivers-like-the-ganga-change-on-ground-situation/articleshow/57818653.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> and that the "judgment is deficient to the extent it acted without hearing others (in states outside Uttarakhand) who have stakes in the matter."<ref name=outlook>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/by-making-ganga-yamuna-living-entities-did-high-court-unwittingly-open-the-door-/298319|last=Bhaskar|first=B. R. P.|title=By Making Ganga, Yamuna Living Entities, Did High Court Unwittingly Open The Door For River Pollution Victims To Sue For Damages?|date=24 March 2017|magazine=Outlook|access-date=6 April 2017|archive-date=22 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822112116/https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/by-making-ganga-yamuna-living-entities-did-high-court-unwittingly-open-the-door-/298319|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Abraham|2011}}

Recent studies by [[Indian Council of Medical Research]] (ICMR) say that the river is so full of killer pollutants that those living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country. Conducted by the National Cancer Registry Programme under the ICMR, the study throws up shocking findings indicating that the river is thick with heavy metals and lethal chemicals that cause cancer. According to Deputy Director-General of NCRP A. Nandkumar, the incidence of cancer was highest in the country in areas drained by the Ganges and stated that the problem would be studied deeply and with the findings presented in a report to the health ministry.<ref>"Ganga is now a deadly source of cancer, study says", ''Anirban Ghosh'' 17 October 2012, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Ganga-a-deadly-source-of-cancer-now-Study/articleshow/16858510.cms [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Ganga-a-deadly-source-of-cancer-now-Study/articleshow/16858510.cms]</ref>

Apart from that, many NGOs have come forward to rejuvenate the river Ganges. Vikrant Tongad, an Environmental specialist from SAFE Green filed a petition against Simbhaoli Sugar Mill (Hapur UP) to NGT. NGT slapped a fine of Rs.&nbsp;5&nbsp;crores to Sugar Mill and a fine of Rs.&nbsp;25&nbsp;lakhs to Gopaljee Dairy for discharging untreated effluents into the Simbhaoli drain.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/ngt-slaps-rs-5-cr-fine-on-sugar-mills/article6509417.ece|title=NGT slaps Rs. 5 cr. fine on sugar mills|first=Akanksha|last=Jain|newspaper=The Hindu|date=17 October 2014|via=www.thehindu.com|access-date=13 November 2019|archive-date=26 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826202653/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/ngt-slaps-rs-5-cr-fine-on-sugar-mills/article6509417.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

===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 {{convert|60|m|ft}}, but in some places, it is now only {{convert|10|m|ft}}.<ref>"How India's Success is Killing its Holy River". Jyoti Thottam. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. 19 July 2010, pp. 12–17.</ref>

{{blockquote|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.<ref>"How India's Success is Killing its Holy River". Jyoti Thottam. ''Time''. 19 July 2010, p. 15.</ref>}}

===Mining===
[[Illegal mining in India#Illegal mining and stone crushing in the Ganges river bed|Illegal mining in the Ganges river bed]] for stones and sand for construction work has long been a problem in [[Haridwar district]], Uttarakhand, where it touches the plains for the first time. This is despite the fact that quarrying has been banned in [[Kumbh Mela]] area zone covering 140&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> area in Haridwar.<ref name=tri>{{cite news |title=Looting the Ganga shamelessly |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110616/main5.htm |newspaper=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |date=16 June 2011 |access-date=7 July 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727091533/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110616/main5.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>