http://www.worldbank.org/en/
http://www.tandfonline.com/
Friday, March 13, 2015
Reference List
http://www.arlingtoninstitute.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/
http://www.tandfonline.com/
http://www.worldbank.org/en/
http://www.tandfonline.com/
Conclusion
In our opinion,
the pollution crisis in the Ganges River will never be fully resolved. Pollutions levels are at such a high amount
that it would require an extreme amount of time and money to properly clean the
river in its entirety. In fact, amounts
of pollution will continue to rise as the country becomes more developed,
populations continue rising, and more industries and factories are placed along
the river. If actions are not taken to
help control pollution and to start cleaning up the river, ecosystems,
businesses, religious traditions, and human health will continue to be
disrupted. Some lessons to be learned from
this environmental issue are to recognize when a problem begins to get out of
control. It is important to target the
main sources of pollution and enact measures to control them prior to the
escalation at which levels of pollution in the Ganges River are at now.
Solutions
Solutions for this problem have
been growing slim, there is almost nothing solving the problem in the Ganges
River . The Ganga Action Plan in 1986 aimed to fix the pollution problem in the
river, which was led to huge costs on the government. The plan was withdrawn in March of 2000, with
little hope as population and waste was still on the rise. In December of 2004 the World Bank donated
one billion dollars over the course of 5 years for the cleanup of the river. This
includes water quality monitoring and technical assistance for city service
providers and environmental regulators. Another project is called Namani Ganga
which cost 334 million in July of 2014 which promised to clean the Ganges in
three years, though little is known about it, or what it involves. Another plan
is to dam the river between Varanasi and Hooghly, and like said before, would
dam the river off, creating energy from the river. The Ganges River is quite
difficult to clean up with current cost of technology and India’s
infrastructure. The dumping of waste, along with common use like bathing, cleaning,
and the Hindu tradition, makes it difficult to stay clean. With the growing
population and dependence on the river, India risks poisoning the water more,
if no solution is completed.
Larger Consequences of the Problem
One of the larger threats that will hit India is the access
to clean water. India is home to one of the largest populations and the access
to clean water is a growing threat. The
Ganges is the main source of water, with more that 400 million people affected
by it. With climate change, CO2 is on the rise which is increasing temperature
levels. With rising temperatures, this could affect rainfall and diminish water
levels in the future. With the lack of access to clean drinking water, and
population on the rise, this could spill news of catastrophe. The Ganges River
is a very biodiverse river, home to a rich variety of species. With the growing
population and dependence on the river for dumping, cleaning, and bathing, this
has led to the rivers pollution. The Ganges River is the 5th most polluted
river behind the Yellow River, Yamuna River, Citarum River, and Mississippi
River. Ideas have been thought up by the Modi government to set up dams, 16 to
be precise. The dams would ruin the river for the environment, as well as ruin
the spirituality of the river. If the dams were to be set up, it could turn the
river into 16 small ponds. If this were to happen, this would be a huge
consequence for the rivers ecosystem, which would make many species go extinct.
The Ganges is going to be a growing problem in the future, and many of benefits
from the river will be stripped because of human behavior. The Ganges was once
a clean river, but risks losing ecosystems and species in the future if things
don’t change.
Specifics of the Problem
Pollution of the
Ganges River began to catch the attention of the public around the 1950s. During this time the population size of areas
around the river in India began to steadily increase. A larger population meant that more and more
people were using this river to bathe and using it as a trash and waste outlet. As well, an increase in industries placed
along the river has been one of the major contributors to the pollution. Specifically the leather industry around Kanpur,
India leaks Chromium and other chemicals into the river. Leakage and dispensing of industry chemicals
is a growing and dangerous issue along the shores of the river. In recent times, conditions within the Ganges
River have been worsening, mainly because efforts and programs to fix or clean
up the river have failed and industrialization along the river has
increased. The main causes associated
with the increasing pollution are industrial contamination, sewage dumping,
religious uses, dumping of ashes, and human bathing. The Ganges River is a main aspect of the
Hindu faith in that it is treated and viewed as holy water. For ritual purposes, Hindus will bathe in the
river to absolve themselves of their sins and to form a stronger connection
with God. It is also a common practice
to disperse the ashes of deceased Hindu people into the water because it is
believed that the river will lead the soul to heavenly state. Although the use of the river for religious
purposes is a historical practice, it is also a contributing factor to the
water’s pollution. As well, there are
very few areas where the water is considered safe to bathe in, which puts
people who bathe in unsafe areas in potentially harmful situations. For example in Varansi, India, people who use
the Ganges River water frequently have been found to contract waterborne and
enteric diseases. According to research
found in the International Journal of
Environmental Health Research, these people were diagnosed with, “acute
gastrointestinal disease, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis-A, and typhoid.”
Location
The Ganges River
runs along the Himalayan Mountains, through India and Bangladesh, and empties into
the Bay of Bengal. This 1,569 mile long river
is considered to be the third largest river due to its excessive amount of
discharge into the Bay of Bengal. The
focus point of pollution of the Ganges River is its negative affects to the
surrounding areas in India. The
pollution of the Ganges River is a regional issue in India because the whole
country, mainly ecosystems in proximity to the river, is faces its negative
effects. Within the water biomes in the
river, the increasing amount of water pollution is harming many fish and
amphibian species. As well, the water
from the river used to support the agriculture in areas surrounding the Ganges
River is negatively affecting crop production.
Specifically in an area called The Delta, a swampy ecosystem inhabited
by humans, animals, and plants, flooding due to intense rainfall occurs every
year between the months of June to October.
Although this rainfall is annual and is expected, the effects caused by
the overflow of polluted waters has negatively affected this ecosystem.
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