lways strapped for cash, the upkeep of civic amenities is always the first to go," says Dr. Sharma.
"What is needed is an integrated approach that generates awareness of the problems to the fullest extent by involving the public and locally elected representatives," says Sharma.
At the Dinapur Sewage Treatment Plant in Varanasi, however, where visitors are presented with bouquets of fragrant flowers grown on sludge from the plant, officials are upbeat about the success of GAP. "By the introduction and implementation of the Ganges Action Plan there has definitely been an improvement in the quality of water in the river," says N.C. Gupta, general manager of the Ganga Pollution Control Unit.
Armed with reams of statistics, Gupta says that the quality of river water at Varanasi has improved substantially, but he admits that a more coordinated and sustained effort will be required before the waters of the Ganges become as pure as pious Hindu pilgrims believe them to be.
"Name me one major river where you can drink the water without first boiling it," says Mr. Gupta. "Look how long it took to clean the Thames and this is a much bigger river system."
FOUL WATERS RUN DEEP: A woman wades through flood waters near India' s southern city of Madras. Severe pollution has put India's vital waterways in increasing jeopardy.