Congress MP Shashi Tharoor today said "leakages" in the Clean Ganga project are hampering the progress in cleaning up the river.

The Ganga has a certain place in our country and its cleaning requires serious efforts, Tharoor said at the launch of the book "River of Life, River of Death" by Victor Mallet.

"If you really want to clean up the Ganga, you need a massive sewage system. But there are leakages in the Clean Ganga project which is stalling its progress," he added.

Mallet agreed. He said that corruption is a big problem, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which are on the banks of the river.

He said the book throws light on an environmental crisis of international significance, with revelations about extreme levels of pollution, antibiotic resistance, droughts, and floods.