The Ganga River

1.1 What is the Ganga’s ultimate source, and what is it called there?

The Ganga’s ultimate source is the Gangotri Glacier, at Gaumukh in Uttarakhand, at an altitude of about 3,892 metres. From the glacier, the river is first called the Bhagirathi.

It becomes the Ganga only at Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda river. The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda are both considered head streams of the Ganga, each fed by its own separate high-Himalayan glacier system.

2.1 What is the Ganga’s full course, and which cities sit along it?

The Ganga leaves the Himalayan foothills and enters the plains at Haridwar. Its total length is about 2,525 km, the longest single course of any river in India. It ends at the Bay of Bengal, via the Sundarbans delta.

• Upper course: Gangotri to Haridwar.
• Middle course: Haridwar to Prayagraj.
• Lower course: Prayagraj to the Bay of Bengal.
• Major cities along the way: Haridwar, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkata.

3.1 What happens to the Ganga at its delta?

Near its mouth, the Ganga splits into several separate distributaries, forming the world’s largest river delta, the Sundarbans.

The Hooghly is the Ganga’s main distributary flowing through West Bengal, and the branch that Kolkata sits on. Downstream of Farakka, the main channel continues into Bangladesh, where it is known locally as the Padma river.

4.1 Where does the Yamuna join the Ganga?

Its biggest tributary, the Yamuna, joins at Prayagraj, after its own long run from the Yamunotri Glacier in Uttarakhand.

5.1 Which tributaries join from which bank?

Other major tributaries include the Ghaghara, Gandak, and Kosi, all joining in Bihar. The Ramganga joins near Kannauj, and the Gomti joins at Ghazipur.

The Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, and Kosi all join the Ganga from its own left (north) bank. The Yamuna and Son join from the right (south) bank, each with a very different origin story to tell.

5.2 Why is the Kosi called the “Sorrow of Bihar,” and why is the Son unusual?

The Kosi is nicknamed the “Sorrow of Bihar.” It floods often, and frequently changes its course. Over the past 200 years, it has shifted westward by more than 120 km.

The Son is unusual among the Ganga’s major tributaries. It rises in Peninsular India, at the Amarkantak plateau, not in the Himalayas. It still joins the Himalayan-fed Ganga system, near Patna.

6.1 How big is the basin, and how many people live in it?

The Ganga basin covers about 861,404 sq km, roughly 26% of India’s total land area — the largest river basin in the country. Despite covering just over a quarter of India’s land, the basin supports close to half of India’s population. The Gangetic plains, at the heart of this basin, are among the most densely populated farmland regions on Earth.

The basin spans 11 states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Delhi.

7.1 What stories and traditions surround the Ganga?

The Ganga is worshipped as the goddess Ganga Devi. Hindu tradition holds that bathing in its waters washes away sin. Sage Bhagiratha is said to have performed penance to bring the Ganga down from heaven to Earth, giving the Bhagirathi its name.

• Varanasi: on the Ganga’s banks, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, and a major pilgrimage and cremation site.
• Kumbh Mela: held periodically at Prayagraj, Haridwar, and other Ganga-side cities, drawing some of the largest religious gatherings on Earth.

8.1 What wildlife does the Ganga support?

The river’s best-known resident is the Gangetic river dolphin, declared India’s National Aquatic Animal in 2009. It is functionally blind, with degenerated eyes and no lens. Instead, it relies on echolocation, using ultrasonic clicks, to navigate and hunt in the Ganga’s murky water.

• Where it stands today: about 90% of the world’s Gangetic river dolphins live in India, and the species is currently listed as Endangered.
• Project Dolphin: India’s dedicated river-dolphin conservation initiative, launched on 15 August 2020 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Other residents: gharials and mugger crocodiles, smooth-coated otters, and several freshwater turtle species share the river system.
• A migratory fish: hilsa, a prized food fish, swims up the Ganga from the sea to spawn — a migration that barrages and dams along the river increasingly disrupt.

8.2 What threatens the Ganga, and what is being done about it?

The river also sustains major fisheries and irrigation across the plains it feeds. Despite its religious and ecological importance, the Ganga faces serious pollution. Untreated sewage and industrial effluent enter it along much of its course. Namami Gange is the government’s main dedicated effort to reduce pollution and restore the river’s ecology, implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti today.

Water sharing with Bangladesh, downstream of the Farakka Barrage, remains a long-running bilateral issue. The Ganges Water Treaty, signed in 1996, governs how much water each country receives during the dry season each year.

9.1 Why is the Ganga Water Treaty in the news?

• India and Bangladesh signed the Ganga Water Treaty in 1996. It shares the river’s dry-season flow at Farakka.
• The treaty expires on 31 December 2026. Its renewal is a major item in India-Bangladesh ties this year.
• In September 2026, EAM S. Jaishankar said India will keep Bihar’s interests in mind before renewal.
• JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha had asked the Centre not to renew it, saying it hurt Bihar.

(Source: The Hindu)

9.2 What has Namami Gange achieved most recently?

On 13 January 2026, India’s first Dolphin Rescue Ambulance was inaugurated. Under the Namami Gange programme, it has already helped rescue and release 8 Gangetic dolphins. (Source: PIB, Ministry of Jal Shakti)

As of February 2026, Namami Gange had sanctioned 524 projects worth about ₹43,030 crore, with 355 already completed. In the 2026-27 Budget, the National Ganga Plan, under Namami Gange Mission-2, received an allocation of ₹3,100 crore.