Bathing in the holly Ganges
Haridwar district is a district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is headquartered at Haridwar which is also its largest city. The district is ringed by the districts Dehradun in the north and east, Pauri Garhwal in the east and the Uttar Pradesh districts of Muzaffarnagar and Bijnor in the south and Saharanpur in the west. A paradise for nature lovers and one of the seven holiest places of Hinduism, Haridwar presents a kaleidoscope of Indian culture and civilization. The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus and is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs.[6] It is worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism. The Ganges was ranked among the five most polluted rivers of the world in 2007,[9] with fecal coliform levels in the river near Varanasi more than one hundred times the official Indian government limits.[10] Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.[9] The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been a major failure thus far,[11][12][13] due to corruption and lack of technical expertise,[14] lack of good environmental planning,[15] Indian traditions and beliefs,[16] and lack of support from religious authorities.[17]
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Photo credit: © Pinimage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: asia, ganga, ganges, haridwar, india, river
