Pollution of the Ganges

The ongoing pollution of the Ganges, the largest river in the Indian subcontinent, poses a significant threat to human health and the environment. The river, which is severely polluted with human waste and industrial contaminants, provides water to about 40% of India's population across 11 states, serving an estimated population of 500 million people, more than any other river in the world.

Today, the Ganges is considered to be the fifth most polluted river in the world. An Indian photographer has noted that no one in India spoke of the Ganges as being polluted until the late 1970s. However, pollution had been affecting the river before wider attention was brought to the topic. Stretches of over 600 km (370 mi) are considered ecologically dead zones.

A number of initiatives were undertaken to clean the river, but failed to deliver significant results. After getting elected, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed to work on cleaning the river and controlling pollution. Subsequently, the Namami Ganga project was announced by the government in the June 2014 budget. An estimated Rs 3,000 crores (US$460 million) had been spent by July 2016 in various efforts to clean up the river.