Pollution of the Ganges

Uncommon card · No. 171253

The ongoing pollution of the Ganges, the largest river in India, poses a significant threat to both human health and the environment. The river supplies water to approximately 40% of India's population across 11 states and serves an estimated 500 million people—more than any other river in the world. Several initiatives have been undertaken to clean the river, but they have failed to produce significant results. After being elected, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to work on cleaning the river and controlling pollution. Subsequently, in the June 2014 budget, the government announced the Namami Gange project. By 2016, an estimated ₹30 billion (US$460 million) had been spent on various efforts to clean up the river, with little success. The proposed solutions include demolishing upstream dams to allow more water to flow into the river during the dry season, constructing new upstream dams or coastal reservoirs to provide dilution water during the dry season, and investing in substantial...

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