Is it safe for tourists to bathe in the Ganges?
The Ganges river, or “Ganga” as the locals call it, is a good example of the gulf that exists between religious belief and biological reality. Although thought to be a holy river, and thus pure, or somehow immune to the influence of humans, the reality in many places is that it is full of pollution. It is used by a huge population of people who live along it, and as they believe it to be pure and holy, they feel less inclined to worry about the consequences of using it for everything from toilet to garbage disposal unit. Sure it’s “safe” to bathe in, if you have a flexible definition of the word; safe.
