Although it begins its journey from the virgin icy Himalayas, the river Ganges loses its virginity to pollution as it moves past industrial cities giving purity to millions of devotees.

Recently the shocking truth has been revealed. Despite several government efforts to save it, “Mother Ganga” is dying. The river is worshipped by billions of devotees and currently serves as the main source of water for about 400 million people.

“I never thought of going somewhere else and settling. Devprayag is a heaven for me. I feel blessed to be born next to Mother Ganges,” says Lokesh Sharma, a priest from the village of Devprayag. Devoted Hindus see the river as a storehouse of physical and spiritual purification that would cleanse them of all sins and diseases.They often bathe in the river to rectify the body and mind and immerse idols of their gods in it as a part of their worship. The water is also drunk as holy water and used for agriculture.

But the 2,525 km-long (1,570 mile) Ganges is shaking its way down to the densely populated plains of north India, where too much water is sucked out to maintain a healthy flow. The water soon turns dark grey as it slides under the bridges in the industrial city of Kanpur. Then at one point the water turns red as industrial waste from nearby tanneries is thrown into the river.

The Modi government has pledged to build treatment plants and move more than 400 tanneries away from the river. But the 3 billion dollar plan they made is hugely lagging behind.

The sorry state of the river can be evidently observed from the holy city of Varansi, Kolkata, and Sagar Island, or Ganga Sagar, a magnet for Hindu pilgrims that marks the point where the Ganges meets the sea.