The Ganga

The Ganga, the holiest river of the Hindus, rises high up in the Himalayas. It flows down from the Gangotri glacier. It springs from an ice cave called "Gomukh'. It mountains several streams join it in its course.

The Ganga leaves the mountain at Hardwar and enters the pain. Now the river flows through dense forests full of wild animals. This region is known as "Terai' and 'Bhavar'.

The river Yamuna meets the Ganga at Allahabad. It is said that the the river Saraswati also meets the Ganga at Prayag. The confluence of these three rivers is known as Triveni Sangam. It is a place of pilgrimage to the Hindus. The river Ganga of Varanasi are famous all over the world. The river is deep here. Boats sail up and and down the river. Crocodiles can in these waters. 

The Ganga flows, then through Bihar and after Rajmahal it flows in two branches. The main branch, known as the river Padma, flows through Bangladesh. The secondary branch flows to the south and is called Bhagirathi. It now heads for Calcutta. here the river flows into the Bay of Bengal.

The are serval holy places on the bank of the Ganga. Hardwar, Allahabad and Varanasi are famous places of pilgrimage. Pilgrims come and bathe in the holy Ganga and worship it.

The Ganga the life line of India. A lot of crops grow in the Ganga basin. Farmers irrigate their fields. A good part of Northern India would not have been so fertile without it. But the water of Ganga is polluted. It has to be checked. So the government of India has launched 'The Ganga Action Plan' to free it from pollution.