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How does untreated sewage pollute the Ganges River?

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Physical map showing the Brahmaputra and Ganges river basins and their drainage networks across northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China), and Myanmar. The map uses color shading to indicate elevation, from the high Himalayas in brown and white to lowland plains in green, and marks major rivers, tributaries, glaciers, dams, irrigated areas, and regions subject to flooding. An inset locator map highlights the region within South Asia. — Ganges River The Brahmaputra and Ganges river basins and their drainage network.

The Ganges River suffers from severe degradation due to the discharge of untreated sewage from scores of cities and towns located along its course and its main tributaries. Because the Ganges basin is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, the volume of waste generated by hundreds of millions of people frequently overwhelms the river's natural capacity to assimilate pollutants.12

This influx of untreated sewage introduces high levels of disease-causing bacteria into the water, rendering it highly polluted over much of its length. The contamination is further exacerbated by industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and the remains of funeral pyres and animal carcasses, which collectively introduce toxic substances such as arsenic, cadmium, and chromium into the ecosystem.21

Addressing this crisis is a moral imperative, as the river is central to the lives and religious practices of millions. Efforts to mitigate this pollution, such as the Namami Gange program, have focused on expanding infrastructure to improve water quality and ecological health.1