varanasi

mirash24

Hi,

I would like to know, pls, if it is safety to sail by boat on the Ganges in Varanasi or there is a danger of falling from the boat.

I look at the pictures from Varansi and see a thin indian sailed a little boat and i'm affraid that these boats may easily turn over.... and i'll find myself in the nasty water of the Ganges ...and i even don't know to swim.

Is it recommended?

thanks a lot,

mira

Shivani Skydancer

Mira, when I told my mum that I'm going to Varanasi, the first thing she said was, "don't fall into the water"!!

I also wouldn't like the idea of getting splashed, or soaked by it. Raw sewage and other unpleasant and unhygienic debris goes straight into the Ganga.

I read on another thread, that all the pipes connecting to the showers in Varanasi bathrooms are pumping Ganga water!! Would be good to know if this is just a rumour, or true.

kaustabh

Mira, visit Varanasi, enjoy a boat ride. While on board just sit and enjoy. If you just relax, enjoy and photograph I cant see any danger. The boats may move a little but they wont turn over for sure.
Come on Shivani, you can understand that this is true for some homes and hotels and not for some other. Not true for ALL I am sure. May be someone can prove me false. That would be a bad news for me. I visited Varanasi last year and had a shower too

Shivani Skydancer

Kaustabh! I hope the whole thing is a bad rumour! I haven't been to Varanasi yet. Hope someone can tell us which guesthouses are doing this.

If not, just to be on the safe side, I'll not wash for a week...!! Hahha

jaibharatma

If it's true... We showered, and are still healthy, and are returning.

dillichaat

I took a couple of boatrides in Varanasi and as long as you don't start jumping around or doing other stupid stuff I think it's perfectly safe. Can't imagine that the story of the Ganga water in guesthouses showers is true. Anyway, I showered once or twice a day in a basic guesthouse when I was staying there and didn't get ill. Can't say the same about eating in an upmarket hotel there...guess the chicken had some friends on board when I ate it.

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When the wise man points out the black hole, the fool looks at the finger.

namaste_cat

True, the boats do seem on the flimsy side, but the waters there are fairly still where they'll be taking you. We're not talking whitewater rapids or anything so those boats are good enough. And as dillichaat said the person getting in the boat also has to follow some basic rules -- avoid jumping around or doing other stupid stuff

Wildhorse

... not to mention the odd corpse.

Brisso

With respect, where do you think the water would come from?

Of course it comes from the Ganga as the only proximate watercourse. Some minor proportion comes from groudnwater. Standard treatment regimes will ensure it is safe enough for showering, if not for drinking due to the questionable state of the reticulation system.

That cup of tea you will have in the morning ....

Shivani Skydancer

Brisso, what I mean is, people are saying it comes straight from the river, untreated! It wouldn't be unthinkable in India. After all, raw sewage is being pumped straight into the Ganga - no one denies that.

SitaParityaga

I was in Varanasi this time last year, my second trip. My room overlooked the Ganges. I did not see any boats looking unstable or in trouble.

With all the recent discussions about boats and safety, your question is timely. If you can swim, you likely will not be harmed by a boat ride. Its a very good way to see the city.

Everyone should learn to swim: sorry, I'm into safety.

dillichaat

If I'd fall in the swim isn't what I'd be worrying about. I'd probably scurry off to the nearest chemist to stock up on antibiotics

Take fecal coliforms: the international norm is that there should be <500/100 ml. In Varanasi, at Rajendra Prasad ghat the central pollution board measured 47000. This is nothing. At the Varuna river, outside and downstream from Varanasi, it measured 5600000 (yep, 5.6 million).. That's what, the norm x11000 or so? Raw sewage, thats's what it is.

When I then see people bathing and brushing their teeth in there.....I realize it's a religious thing but personally I wouldn't be in such a hurry to join the gods.

Shivani skydancer: I still can't believe this would be happening (pumping water straight from the river to your shower). You'd notice something was off with the water I think.

capt_mahajan

Personally, I would be more worried about the beaches of the Mediterranean, just off which the Italian mafia (which holds sway over more than twenty percent of the Italian population, btw) has dumped (is still dumping?) European nuclear waste.


No antibiotics for that one. Extra body parts free.

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Outside the machine

dillichaat

Yes, I've read the articles about that. Though radiochemical analysis so far hasn't shown higher than normal radiation. I'll take my chances any day, on my favorite secluded spot on the island of Folegandros (cyclades).

Anyway, it was not an India vs the rest of the world thread I think....

kaustabh

Great one. Serious.


Actually only the hotels very close to Ganges can think of pumping the water directly. Others have to depend on ground water or municipal supply. That must undergo some treatment. But if there are some dead crow in the overhead tanks then the story is different. Try your nose on the water.