In Allahabad, northern India, a megacity of millions is
sprouting up at the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges rivers.
For millennia, Hindu devotees have flocked to these holy banks
to participate in a ritual cleansing known as the Kumbh Mela;
this year’s Maha Kumbh Mela is a particularly auspicious
iteration in cycles of these pilgrimages, which occur four times
every 12 years. In 2001, nearly 70 million flocked to the
Ganges’ shores here. More Photography from Time People in India
use those rivers to bathe, wash dishes, wash clothes, dump
feces, dump garbage, urinate, etc.. Even so, those same rivers
are used for drinking and cooking. The pollution in those rivers
is atrocious, and has been associated with causing disease,
illness, and death. Events like the Kumbh Mela only worsen the
condition of those rivers, and thereby put the Indian populace
at further risk. @mrbomb13 yes I know. and people in the US buy
new combustion engines. People are crazy, huh Mrbomb While it's
true that Americans buy (presumabl