An estimated 2,000,000 people ritually bathe daily in the river, which is considered holy by the Hindus. In the Hindu religion it is said to flow from the hair of Shiva.
The spiritual and religious significance is greater than any other river on the planet. While the Ganges may be considered holy, there are some problems associated with the ecology. It is filled with chemical wastes, sewage and even human and animal remains which carry major health risks by either direct bathing in the dirty water (e.g .: Bilharziasis infection), or by drinking (the Fecal-oral route)
Hollick speaks with DS Bhargava, a retired professor of hydrology, who has spent a lifetime performing experiments up and down Ganges in the plains of India. In most rivers, Bhargava says, organic material usually exhausts a river's available oxygen and starts putrefying. But in the Ganges, an unknown substance, or "X factor" that Indians refer to as a "disinfectant," acts on organic materials and bacteria and kills them. Bhargava says that the Ganges' self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels 25 times higher than any other river in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment