The Ganges River

The Ganges River begins in the Himalaya’s and flows 1600 miles through India. The river is important to Hindu’s around the world. The river provides transportation and water for more than 400 million people who live along the river.

The quality of the water of the Ganges River has become poor. Chemicals used in fertilizers and industry are washed into the river everyday along with human and animal waste.

Bodies of dead animals and the cremated remains of people regularly float down the river. In spite of this, many Indians bathe in the Ganges as well as use the water for washing and cooking.

The result of this pollution is an array of water-borne diseases including cholera, hepatitis, typhoid and amoebic dysentery. An estimated 80% of all health problems and one-third of deaths in India are attributable to water- borne diseases.

India’s National Aquatic animal – The Ganga River Dolphin. Once present in tens of thousands of numbers, the Ganges River Dolphin has dwindled abysmally to less than 2000 during the last century.

The source of the Ganges River is the Himalayan Mountains

Which is true about the Ganges River?  A. The river is ignored by Indian religious rituals  B. People do not drink the water because it is so polluted  C. Many people use the river for transportation and as a water supply  D. Plant and animal life have not been affected by the river’s pollution

How has India’s need to develop more industry ended up creating problems along the Ganges River?  A. Factories along the river dump industrial waste and chemicals into the river every day  B. No one is allowed to cremate dead bodies along the river since large factories have been built  C. Factory owners do not allow Indians to use the river for bathing

Why has the Indian government had such a difficult time making much progress in cleaning up the Ganges River?  A. Most people in India do not feel the river is polluted  B. The government of India had not made cleaning the Ganges one of its goals  C. Few people have gotten sick from the river  D. India’s growing population and run off from farming make it hard to see much progress in controlling pollution