Story highlights More than 63 million people in India without access to clean drinking water

Two Indian rivers join New Zealand river in being granted human status

New Delhi (CNN) A decades-long fight against river pollution in India has been given a much needed boost.

On Monday, a court in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand declared the Yamuna and Ganges rivers "living entities."

The court justified its ruling on the grounds that the rivers were "losing their very existence" and the situation required "extraordinary measures to be taken to preserve and conserve the Rivers Ganga and Yamuna," using an alternative name for the Ganges.

The ruling said the rivers, both of which are considered sacred to Hindus and personified as goddesses, were crucial in providing "physical and spiritual sustenance" to locals.

Suresh Kumar Rohilla, an expert on urban water management at Indian NGO the Center for Science and Environment, said it was unclear how the court's decision would get translated on the ground.

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