Plastic Free Ganga

• 18 May 2024

Why in News?

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation have launched a collaborative initiative titled “Flowing Towards a Plastic-Free Future” to free the Ganga river and its 15 tributaries from plastic pollution and conserve the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem.

Key Points

• The drive will take place over five days in seven states, namely Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
• The initiative focuses on raising awareness about detrimental effects of plastic on freshwater biodiversity.

Wildlife Institute of India

• It is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• It was established in 1982.
• It is based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• It offers training programs, academic courses, and advisory in wildlife research and management.

Ganga River

• It is the longest river of India flowing over 2,510 km of mountains, valleys and plains and is revered by Hindus as the most sacred river on earth.
• The Ganga basin outspreads in India, Tibet (China), Nepal and Bangladesh over an area of 10,86,000 Sq.km.
• In India, it covers states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Delhi draining nearly 26% of the total geographical area of the country.
• It originates in the snowfields of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas.
• At its source, the river is called the Bhagirathi. It descends down the valley upto Devprayag where after joining another hill stream Alaknanda, it is called Ganga.
• The principal tributaries joining the river from right are the Yamuna and the Son.
• The Ramganga, the Ghaghra, the Gandak, the Kosi and the Mahananda join the river from left. The Chambal and the Betwa are the two other important sub- tributaries.
• The Ganges River Dolphin is an endangered animal that specifically habitats this river.
• The Ganga joins the Brahmaputra (Jamuna) in Bangladesh and continues its run under the name Padma.
• The Ganga widens out into the Ganges Delta in the Sundarbans swamp of Bangladesh, before it ends its journey by emptying into the Bay of Bengal.