World Water Week 2021: 5 Most Polluted Rivers In India

Ganga: River Ganga is considered holy and pious according to religious belief. As a result, lakhs and lakhs of people go for a dip in the sacred water to bathe and offer prayers. Another role that it plays in the eyes of the world is being one of the most polluted rivers in the world. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Ganga: Roughly 1100 industrial establishments dump sewage waste and pollutants in the river. Among the many places the river flows through, Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi alone is accountable for 25% of all pollutants being discharged in the river. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Yamuna: The Yamuna is an equally polluted river as Ganga and is dying a slow death. The worst thing that happened to the river is that it passes through Delhi from Palla village in Wazirpur to Okhla. During its path, Yamuna is loaded with untreated domestic waste, industrial chemicals, and fly ash. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Yamuna: It is now proven to be unsustainable for any aquatic life since its self-cleanse-inducing free-flow is also hindered by urban developments. Not to forget the holy offerings being dumped in the river by passionately religious folks. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Brahmaputra: The lifeline of Assam is itself struggling to breathe in the toxic environment it flows in. Flowing with a stretch of 2900 kilometers, the Brahmaputra River suffers from heavy emissions of sewage waste, oil, and chemical from various polluting sources. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Brahmaputra: Efforts to revive the lifeless torrent suffocate in the mist of political blame-games and diplomacies. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Damodar: Flowing through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal, Damodar is by far the most polluted river in the country. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Damodar: The main reason for the river’s highly polluted state is the multiple coal industries being set up on the mineral-loaded banks of the river. The most horrific incident that happened with the river was in 1990 when an estimated 2 lakh liters of furnace oil spilled in the river. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Bagmati: Bagmati flows through Kathmandu in Nepal and joins the Koshi River in Bihar, India. It is considered holy in both Hindu and Buddhist religions. Despite that, the river is nothing but a foul-smelling, heavily industrialized drain-like stream. (Representative image: Shutterstock)

Bagmati: It is marked unsafe for both drinking as well as irrigation. (Representative image: Shutterstock)