37 Facts About Ganges river

1.

The Ganges river continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma.

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2.

Main stem of the Ganges river begins at the town of Devprayag, at the confluence of the Alaknanda, which is the source stream in hydrology on account of its greater length, and the Bhagirathi, which is considered the source stream in Hindu mythology.

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3.

Ganges river is a lifeline to millions of people who live in its basin and depend on it for their daily needs.

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4.

The Ganges river is home to approximately 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians, and reptiles and mammals, including critically endangered species such as the gharial and South Asian Ganges river dolphin.

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5.

The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the Ganges river, has been considered a failure which is variously attributed to corruption, a lack of will in the government, poor technical expertise, environmental planning and a lack of support from religious authorities.

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6.

Upper phase of the river Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

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7.

Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganges river passes the towns of Chunar, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ara, Patna, Chapra, Hajipur, Mokama, Begusarai, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Bhagalpur, Ballia, Buxar, Simaria, Sultanganj, and Farakka.

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8.

Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganges river, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free.

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9.

Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly Ganges river passes the towns and cities of Murshidabad, Nabadwip, Kolkata and Howrah.

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10.

The hydrology of the Ganges River is very complicated, especially in the Ganges Delta region.

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11.

Name Ganges is used for the river between the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, in the Himalayas, and the first bifurcation of the river, near the Farakka Barrage and the India-Bangladesh Border.

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12.

Sometimes the source of the Ganges river is considered to be at Haridwar, where its Himalayan headwater streams debouch onto the Gangetic Plain.

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13.

Over time the rivers in Ganges Delta have often changed course, sometimes altering the network of channels in significant ways.

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14.

The main flow of the Ganges river reached the sea not via the modern Hooghly River but rather by the Adi Ganga.

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15.

One result of this shift to the Padma was that the Ganges now joined the Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

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16.

All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it, and letting it fall back into the Ganges river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks.

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17.

Ganges river is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology.

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18.

The Ganges river is invoked whenever water is used in Hindu ritual and is therefore present in all sacred waters.

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19.

The symbolic and religious importance of the Ganges river is one of the few things that Hindus, even their skeptics, have agreed upon.

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20.

Ganges river has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga.

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21.

Those who cannot journey to the river can achieve the same results by bathing in any nearby body of water, which, for the true believer, takes on all the attributes of the Ganges.

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22.

The Ganges river descends is tamed in Shiva's locks, and arrives in the Himalayas.

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23.

Ganges river is then led by the waiting Bhagiratha down into the plains at Haridwar, across the plains first to the confluence with the Yamuna at Prayag and then to Varanasi, and eventually to Ganges Sagar, where she meets the ocean, sinks to the netherworld, and saves the sons of Sagara.

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24.

Ganges river's soul arrives before Yama, the Lord of Death, to be judged for the afterworld.

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25.

Regardless of all scientific understanding of its waters, the Ganges river is always ritually and symbolically pure in Hindu culture.

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26.

Ganges river accepts Shiva's incandescent seed from the fire-god Agni, which is too hot for this world and cools it in her waters.

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27.

Ganges river is the distilled lifeblood of the Hindu tradition, of its divinities, holy books, and enlightenment.

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28.

Early in ancient Indian culture, the river Ganges was associated with fecundity, its redeeming waters, and its rich silt providing sustenance to all who lived along its banks.

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29.

Furthermore, The Ganges river goddesses Ganga and Saraswati were both born from Brahma's pot, containing the celestial waters.

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30.

Major barrage at Farakka was opened on 21 April 1975, It is located close to the point where the main flow of the Ganges river enters Bangladesh, and the tributary Hooghly continues in West Bengal pastKolkata.

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31.

Three towns holy to Hinduism—Haridwar, Allahabad, and Varanasi—attract millions of pilgrims to its waters to take a dip in the Ganges river, which is believed to cleanse oneself of sins and help attain salvation.

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32.

The rapids of the Ganges are popular for river rafting in the town of Rishikesh, attracting adventure seekers in the summer months.

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33.

Ganges river basin is home to about 30 fish species that are listed as threatened with the primary issues being overfishing, pollution, water abstraction, siltation and invasive species.

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34.

Ganges river dolphin is one of only five true freshwater dolphins in the world.

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35.

Many studies have suggested that climate change will affect the water resources in the Ganges river basin including increased summer flow, and peak runoff could result in an increased risk of flooding.

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36.

Recent studies by Indian Council of Medical Research say that the Ganges river is so full of killer pollutants that those living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country.

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37.

Around Varanasi, the Ganges river once had an average depth of 60 metres, but in some places, it is only 10 metres.

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