The most endangered species in the Ganges' murky waters may not be its pink dolphins or the vast variety of fishes that used to make their way up the river from the Bay of Bengal - they left a long time ago. Instead, the most endangered species of the Ganges may be the 60,000 religious worshippers who bathe daily along the banks of the sacred river in the holy city of Varanasi, dipping in the water each morning. Pollution levels have reached critical levels in the river, but worshippers in this city of 1.5 million continue their religious practices without notice and may now be at risk of disappearing along with the river.

It would be difficult to think of the Ganges River as clean to begin with. Human ashes and the occasional corpse are dumped in the river, and the water is used to bathe animals and wash clothes. But the biggest cause of pollution is untreated sewage. Each day, the Ganges receives 200 million liters of untreated sewage from the open drains of Varanasi. Reports suggest that the most polluted parts of the river contain 40,000 times the level of fecal matter acceptable for bathing water, and dissolved oxygen has sunk to dangerously low levels.

At the same time, the Ganges is seen as a maternal figure that atones human sin with loving forgiveness. Faithful Hindus regard the river as a goddess who absolves worldly impurities and rejuvenates the cosmos with her purifying power. For the most faithful, a day cannot start without a holy dip in the river. It is believed that the mere touch of water from the Ganges is enough to attain nirvana, when the soul of the deceased finally rests in peace. For this reason, cremation sites are common along the banks as is the immersion of people's ashes in the water.