Ganga River History and It’s Present Scenarios

 

Say it ‘Ganges’ or ‘Ganga’ or the mother river of India, truth be told it is certainly a blessed gift. The Ganges to me is the epitome of India’s royal past which has been flowing into the present and further flows towards the ocean of future. Its banks has innumerable memories, stories of fright, mischief, happiness, sorrows to share from millions of households scattered across its banks.

MYTHOLOGICALLY AND EARLY GANGA

 

Ganges ,rather than being just a river has its roots interwinned with the mythology of India and also boasts of being the goddess worshipped majorly in India. There are various interpretation regarding its birth. It is believed that Ganges came into existence when Lord Brahma washed the feet of Lord Vishnu.

In Ramayana, Valmiki added that Ganges was the daughter of the indomitable Himalayas and Menaka. On the other side of Ramayana the Ganges was taken to marry Lord Shiva and she resided in Kailash, later started flowing into a spiritual pot for the pleasure of the god.

During early Vedic ages ,the Indus and the Saraswati were the main rivers but later the three Vedas seem to give much more importance to Ganga. The first foreigner to refer about Ganga was Megasthanese.

THE GEOGRAPHY BEHIND GANGA AND INDIA

 

However, geographically Ganges is one of the major rivers flowing east through the gangetic plain of North India and finally into Bangladesh. Although many small streams comprises the headwaters of ganges,the six longest headstreams and their five confluences are given both cultural and geographical emphasis.The river flows through India, Nepal, Bangladesh. It rises 2510 km in the western Himalayas in the Uttarakhand state of India and drains into Sunderban delta into Bay of Bengal.

The 2510 km or 1557 km river originates at the Gangotri glacier in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The major cities along the Ganges are Haridwar, Allahabad, Kanpur , Patna, Vanarasi.

GANGA ND ITS PRESENT CONDITION

 

The Ganges above all is the river of India which has captured India’s heart and attract uncounted millions to her banks since time immemorial. The biography of Ganges, form the Gangotri glacier to the Bay of Bengal, from old times to new, is the narration of India’s civilisation and culture, victory and defeat of emperors, of enchanting proud cities, of man’s adventures Decades long efforts by the government to breathe life into Ganga through massive clean-up projects like Ganga Ac.

However the Ganga is not the pure Ganga anymore. The divinity in Ganga has been polluted by samples of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide. All the sewage from cities, households, factories are emptied in the Ganga littering it every second.

Massive clean up projects like Ganga Action Plan I and II have come into action. But the results are still minimal. We need to rise up in action and step ahead doing our bit for the concern before its too late .All because Ganga still remains as the only symbol of India’s civilisation. THE

The Ganga a sign of India’s heritage, worshipped by her people, amidst her memories, her hopes, her fears, her songs of triumph. She has been a part of India s culture and civilisation, ever changing, ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.