Page 22 - Namami Gange 35th Edition

The 3rd part of the trilogy is Beyond the trilogy on Ganga, the
‘Heads and Tail of Ganga’. Division undertook the preparation
Authored by Prof. Vijay Paranjpye, of a position paper on a lesser
environmentalist and mountaineer, known aspect, i.e. the riverine islands
and sponsored by INTACH, it of the Ganga. River islands are a
weaves together an extraordinarily neglected facet of Indian rivers and
broad range of aspects of the Ganga surprisingly there is little knowledge
River. As the title suggests, it covers about them. These islands, often
a large part of the Ganga River known as tapus, chars, diaras, often
System (approximately 10,87,852 provide habitats and connecting
sq.km.), from its uppermost corridors for faunal movement and
reaches in the snow and ice-covered wildlife refuges. Unfortunately, in
regions of India and Nepal, lying conserve Ganga, erasing political
between 3000 m. and 8000 m. boundaries and respecting basin
above mean sea level (Heads or boundaries in the common interest
Cryoshphere), through its vast river of all countries.
basin spread across eleven states
within India, passing through the In addition to the trilogy the
political boundaries of neighboring Division has completed a select
countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, bibliography which was drawn upon
right down to the Sunderbans delta for the Ganga Documentation
of Ganga Brahmaputra-Meghana project, which will be an invaluable
(Tails) in Bangladesh (a total length aid to researchers. A total of
of 2616 kms). The study gives the 2346 references have been listed
reader an insight into complex and in this document, organized by
little-known aspects of the Ganga first alphabet of the lead author’s
River System, like the cryosphere
(uppermost frozen regime), the
permafrost, glaciers, snowfields, the recent times, the islands are being
largest and tallest freshwater towers encroached by human settlements
in the world and the critical role they and being cleared for agriculture,
play in maintaining water flows in which will ultimately impact the river
the river and sustaining eco-systems ecosystem adversely. The Division
as well as human populations in the has prepared a policy document for
upper, middle, and lower regimes the conservation and use of these
of the river basin. Further, the islands, which will have an impact
study describes the diversity of on the various river systems in India.
the flora and fauna, the role of
local communities and details the With these publications INTACH
role of bacteriophages which may hopes to have contributed in a
hold a long-term and sustainable surname. This selection is not modest way towards conservation
solution to the dreadful problem of exhaustive as the vast corpus of the Ganga.
pathogenic river pollution. of work was mined from the
perspective of our objective. Still, it
The book makes a fervent plea to covers a large core of the body of
involve the basin countries [40% of literature on the Ganga and would
the Ganga water originates in Nepal] aid many a research odyssey.
in our endeavour to rejuvenate and

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