India’s Ganges River is one of the most revered in the world; it is also one of the most polluted.
Stretching some 1,500 miles from its origins in the Himalayas to its mouth in the Bay of Bengal, the river is worshiped by many Hindus and is a water source for an estimated 400 million people. Those who worship the river believe that it has curative powers and that immersion in its waters can absolve them of sins. Bodies are burned along its banks and ashes are tossed into the water, where they mix with other pollutants, include waste from tanneries along the way.
