I am not a nature lover or a geologist studying the shifting trends of nature and nor am I some volunteer of any ‘save nature’ movement. I am a simple and a selfish human being who is worried about the future of his family as I spectate the nature being murdered by people just like me. I wont talk of global warming and melting glaciers but will give you a small glimpse of what we are doing to ourselves.
Here are few rivers which once may have been the habitat of the most beautiful aquatic life but now house our wastes. Have a close look at these ugly rivers of the world.
1. Citarum river, Indonesia
Surprised? That’s the Citarum river in West Java, Indonesia. While this river may look like garbage pool to you but is actually the main source of water for agriculture and water supply for the people. The river is heavily polluted by the human activity and has no aquatic life breathing beneath the floating wastes. In December 2008, the Asian Development Bank approved a $500 million loan for cleaning upthe river but as we see it will take years to get back the dead river back to life.
2. Yamuna River, India
Yamuna the largest tributary river of the Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in the world where 58% of the waste from the Indian capital New Delhi is dumped intothe river . Its very surprising to note that a total of Rs 1,700 crore has been spent on cleaning Yamuna as well Ganges but with all efforts turning to vain, government has finally laid its hands down.
3. Buriganga river, Bangladesh
The Buriganga River is the main river flowing beside Dhaka city, capital of Bangladesh. The biological dead river owns its plight to the 80% is untreated directly flowing intothe river and polythenes deposited beneath water .
4. Yellow river from Lanzhou, China
The Yellow River is China’s second longest river and is the main water supply for millions of people in northern China. But the river with primarily Lanzhou which is the prime source of drinking water for the two million local residences, is heavily polluted with oil spills taking place every now and then due to industrial contamination.
5. Marilao river, Philippines
Plastic wrappers, rubber slippers, banana trunks and a bloated carcass of a dog, that’s few of the things you may find floating in the Marilao river. The waters contain toxic chemicals such as chromium, cadmium, copper and arsenic making the water very dangerous. Despite campaigns by the local government and imposing fines, households still throw their garbage, and factories release their effluents intothe river resulting in highly contaminated water.
6. Ganges river, India
Ganga is the most sacred river for Hindus that emerges from gangotri glacier. An estimated 2,000,000 people ritually bathe daily inthe river, inspite of being unsafe as chemical wastes, sewage and corpses remains float fearlessly across the water body.
7. Songhua river, China
The Songhua is a river in Northeast China, and is the largest tributary of the Heilong River. In November 2005, the river was contaminated with benzene, that lead to a shutdown of Harbin’s water supply.
8. The Mississippi river, USA
The Mississippi River is a major economic and natural resource for the heartland of the United States. The river drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands and carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year.
9. The Sarno river, Italy
The Sarno is a stream that passes through Pompeii to the south of the city of Naples. It is considered the most polluted river in Europe. The situation is aggravated by large-scale dumping of untreated agricultural and industrial waste into the river. The polluted basin waters flowing into the Bay of Naples also increase the sea water contamination.
10. The King River, Australia
The King River is arguably Australia’s most polluted river that suffers severe acidic condition related to mining operations.. About 1.5 million tonnes of sulfidic tailings enteredthe river system each year up to 1995 with total of more than 100 million tonnes until date.
This is just the end of my list of ten rivers that look ugly and are dangerous to humans around them. There are hundreds more like them lying lifeless with plastics and toxics floating above the dead water creatures and plants. We all are educated and showing ignorance towards the matter is not a wise behaviour we all know. But still we stay mumm and are happy with mineral water bottles and our water purifiers at our homes. I do not ask you to think about the world but sit and ponder about your future. How far you can convince yourself after watching the plight that the rivers have met today, that you have a safe tomorrow?
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