Ganges River India and Bangladesh 2,525km
POLLUTION: HOW & WHO
• The water is used for bathing, drinking, cooking, and even disposing of corpses after cremation along its banks
• Sewage from the many cities along
its course
• Factories and devotees dump industrial waste and religious offerings wrapped in non-degradable plastics
EFFECTS OF POLLUTION
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research, people staying along the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in India Gallbladder cancer cases along the Ganges are the second highest in the world with prostate cancer cases the highest in India
Aquatic Life in Peril
Home to more than 140 fish species and 90 amphibian species The Ganges river dolphin is “Endangered”, according to the IUCN. Only about 2,000 individuals exist in the water catchment of the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems, according to a recent study led by WWF-India The Ganges shark (Glyphis
gangeticus), which is listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List, is endemic to India and found in various rivers including the Ganges