After New Zealand, India declares Ganga, Jamuna ‘living entity’

In a landmark ruling, a High Court in India has given the river Ganges and the Jamuna the status of the "first living entity of India".

The judgment of the Uttarakhand state High Court, where the two rivers originate, gives the Ganges and the Jamuna the rights similar to a living person and is expected to have a positive bearing on efforts to clean up the polluted rivers, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The division bench of Justices Rajeev Sharma and Alok Singh cited the example of river Whanganui in New Zealand which has been given such a status.

The Indian High Court also named two "legal parents" of the two rivers-- the director of Namami Gange project for cleaning and rejuvenating the river and the Chief Secretary and the top legal officer of Uttarakhand for protecting, conserving and preserving the rivers and their tributaries, reports the correspondent.

The judgment came following a petition on a matter related to mining and stone crushing along the banks of the Ganges.

Considered the holiest river of India, the Ganges has over the last few decades become one of the most polluted rivers of the world.

Various campaigns, including the "Clean Ganga" project, undertaken by the Indian government and orders from various courts to treat sewage and shut down polluting industries along its banks have failed to bring about the desired effect.