ABSTRACT
The River Ganges, with a length of 2,510 km, is one of the major international rivers of the world. The river and its tributaries pass through several densely populated areas of India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Millions of people in these countries are dependent upon this river for drinking water, irrigation, navigation and the provision of hydroelectric power. However, the Ganges has become one of the most polluted rivers in the world and the quality of life of its people has fallen to an alarming scale within the past few decades. Many small tributaries of the Ganges have either dried up or the volume of water in these rivers has decreased alarmingly during the dry season owing to deforestation across northern India and Nepal Himalayan region and other climatic changes.
