This was revealed in the World’s Top 10 Rivers at Risk, a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report that was released on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI: The Ganga, the country’s most influential river, is drying. So, in the years to come, the country could face a severe water scarcity.
This was revealed in the World’s Top 10 Rivers at Risk, a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report that was released on Tuesday.
The Indus, parts of which flow through India, is also on the list of threatened species.
According to WWF officials, the factors pushing the Ganga and the Indus towards extinction include over-extraction, climatic changes, as well as industrial and religious activities.
Ravi Singh, CEO, WWF-India, said: “The implications will start unfolding in the coming years. The danger to rivers will ultimately affect communities, wildlife, climate, and bio-diversity. One of the first changes will be witnessed in the monsoon impact from the Bay of Bengal.”
The other rivers under threat are the Salween-Nu, Dabube, La Plata, Rio Grande-Rio Bravo, Nile-Lake Victoria, Murray-Darling, Mekong-Lancang, and the Yangtze.
As far as the Ganga is concerned, at least 109 species of fish and a significant quantity of agricultural products have been hurt by the depletion in river resources. “At least 60 per cent of the river is diverted through barrages for irrigation,” said Sejal Worah, programme director, WWF-India. “This has caused surface water reduction, which in turn has led to more groundwater extraction. The ultimate impact is not known – but the catastrophe resulting from changes in river systems could lead to floods followed by severe droughts.”
Some of the immediate impact of the river’s destruction has already been witnessed in the Sunderbans in Bengal where a significant proportion of the local population has been displaced because of the alarming rate at which the river has eaten into the land. The Ganges river dolphin is also dying out at the rate of 10 per cent per annum.
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