GANGA
The Ganges is
one of the most sacred rivers to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indi
ans who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshipped in Hinduism and personified as the goddess Gaṅgā. It has also been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals located on its banks.
The Ganges is highly polluted. Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. The Ganges is a major source of global ocean plastic pollution. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. due to rampant corruption, lack of will on behalf of the government and its bureaucracy, lack of technical expertise, poor environmental planning, and lack of support from religious authorities.
Course
The main stream of the Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and, therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from peaks such as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gomukh, at an elevation of, being mythologically referred to as, residing in the matted locks of Shiva, symbolically Tapovan, being a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just away.
Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Dhauliganga, Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini, and Bhagirathi rivers. The five confluences, known as the Panch Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, Vishnuprayag, where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; Nandprayag, where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag, where the Pindar joins, Rudraprayag, where the Mandakini joins; and finally, Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganges River proper. which alone accounts for 10–20% of the global burial of organic carbon.
The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about . It stretches along the Bay of Bengal.
Only the Amazon and Congo rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system. In full flood only the Amazon is larger.
The Ganges, or Ganga, is a trans-boundary river of the Indian subcontinent which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India. After entering West Bengal, it divides into two rivers: the Hooghly and the Padma River. The Hooghly, or Adi Ganga, flows through several districts of West Bengal and into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island. The other, the Padma, also flows into and through Bangladesh, and joins the Meghna river which ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0RyqwKATJahyphenhypheneYBo7vRQHjjhu_RtSkY0wsL2ThK_B04XeBOB6Grdw-ifSEvvvtvANeYcEwrpg_6d7p1CGPeWXkXPI-RpVMxrqjVarHo0PwN9yNWF10YMTptrmOLO12OspljMDITqj7g/s1600/GAN2.jpg)
one of the most sacred rivers to Hindus. It is also a lifeline to millions of Indi
ans who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs. It is worshipped in Hinduism and personified as the goddess Gaṅgā. It has also been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals located on its banks.
The Ganges is highly polluted. Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin. The Ganges is a major source of global ocean plastic pollution. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. due to rampant corruption, lack of will on behalf of the government and its bureaucracy, lack of technical expertise, poor environmental planning, and lack of support from religious authorities.
Course
The main stream of the Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and, therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from peaks such as Nanda Devi, Trisul, and Kamet. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gomukh, at an elevation of, being mythologically referred to as, residing in the matted locks of Shiva, symbolically Tapovan, being a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just away.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DBDEZe61o6Kdyvj94CYtRCayKfwCY6GBEydzHxGiUSFubapJEpW841sD9C7Qll7PrmtSsZdmZn2unOFu37WWs6_gqzx3xeVFiqabVAtHYnZfv1jWnF9v6jp-H2dZPlwLpGyhjBlX9JY/s1600/GAN3.jpg)
The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about . It stretches along the Bay of Bengal.
Only the Amazon and Congo rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system. In full flood only the Amazon is larger.