Ganges

The Ganges—known as the Ganga in India and the Padma in Bangladesh—is one of Asia’s major transboundary rivers. Flowing through India and Bangladesh and fed by tributaries from Nepal and China, it forms the core of the vast Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna basin. This river system sustains hundreds of millions of people, supports major cities, and holds profound cultural and religious significance.

Geographic Origin and Early Course

The Ganges originates in the western Himalayas within the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Its official formation occurs at Devprayag, where the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers meet. Although the Alaknanda is hydrologically longer and larger, Hindu belief venerates the Bhagirathi as the river’s sacred source.
The Alaknanda arises from glacial meltwaters near peaks such as Nanda Devi, Trisul and Kamet, while the Bhagirathi emerges from the Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh. Several headstreams converge to form the Ganges, and their sacred confluences—the Panch Prayag (Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Devprayag)—are important pilgrimage sites.
After flowing through narrow mountain valleys for several hundred kilometres, the river descends into the plains at Rishikesh and enters the Gangetic Plain at Haridwar, where the Ganges Canal headworks divert part of its water to irrigate the Doab region.

Course through the Gangetic Plain

Across northern India the Ganges follows a sweeping south-easterly arc through numerous towns and cities, including:

• Uttar Pradesh: Bijnor, Garhmukteshwar, Anupshahr, Kannauj, Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ballia
• Bihar: Chausa, Buxar, Chhapra, Danapur, Patna, Hajipur, Barh, Mokama, Begusarai, Munger, Sultanganj, Bhagalpur
• Jharkhand: Sahibganj
• West Bengal: Murshidabad, Palashi, Nabadwip, Shantipur, Kolkata, Howrah, Serampore, Chinsurah, Budge Budge, Haldia, Uluberia, Baranagar, Barrackpore

In Prayagraj, the Ganges meets the Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam, a site revered in Hinduism. Although the Ganges is traditionally considered the principal river, the Yamuna contributes a larger share of the combined discharge at this confluence.
Further downstream the river receives major Himalayan tributaries:

• Tamsa (Tons)
• Gomti
• Ghaghara/Karnali (its largest tributary by discharge)
• Son
• Gandaki
• Kosi (joining near Kursela and ranking as the third-largest tributary by discharge)

These rivers carry substantial runoff from Nepal and parts of China, contributing roughly 45 percent of the Ganges’ total flow.

The Eastern Course and Distributaries

Near Farakka in West Bengal, the river begins to split into distributaries. The Farakka Barrage diverts part of the flow into a feeder canal to maintain navigability in the Hooghly River, which moves south past towns and cities such as Murshidabad, Nabadwip, Kolkata and Howrah before entering the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island.
The Hooghly is joined by tributaries including the Bhagirathi, Ajay and the important Damodar River.

Entry into Bangladesh: The Padma

Crossing into Bangladesh, the main channel becomes the Padma River. It is subsequently joined by:

• the Jamuna River, which is the lower course of the Brahmaputra
• the Meghna River, forming a vast estuarine network

This confluence produces the Ganges Delta, the world’s largest delta system, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladeshi towns and cities along the river include:

• Rajshahi, Pabna, Ishwardi, Kushtia, Shilaidaha
• Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Faridpur
• Chandpur, Noakhali, Bhola

Ecological and Biological Richness

The Ganges supports remarkable biodiversity:

• around 140 species of fish
• approximately 90 species of amphibians
• reptiles and mammals including the gharial, mugger crocodile and the critically endangered South Asian river dolphin

Its diverse habitats range from high-altitude mountain streams to wetlands, floodplains and estuarine mangroves.

Cultural and Religious Importance

The Ganges is the most sacred river in Hinduism and is personified as the goddess Ganga. Rituals, pilgrimages and festivals are intimately connected with its waters. Historical cities and former imperial capitals—Pataliputra, Kannauj, Varanasi, Patna, Delhi, Murshidabad, Sonargaon, Dhaka, Kolkata and many others—emerged and flourished along its banks.
The river is essential for agriculture, transportation, domestic use and religious life, making it a central feature of South Asian civilisation for millennia.

Pollution and Environmental Challenges

Rapid population growth, urbanisation and industrial discharge have severely degraded water quality. Near Varanasi, levels of faecal coliform bacteria exceed official limits by more than 100-fold, posing risks to human and ecological health.
The Ganga Action Plan, launched in the 1980s to address pollution, is frequently assessed as ineffective. Reasons cited include inadequate planning, weak governance, limited technical capacity and insufficient cooperation from religious or local authorities.

The River as a Lifeline

From its Himalayan origins to its immense delta, the Ganges–Padma river system sustains hundreds of millions of people. It provides drinking water, irrigation, fisheries, transport routes and cultural identity across northern India and Bangladesh. As one of the world’s great river systems, it continues to shape environments, livelihoods and spiritual traditions across the region.