Him Ganga Hum
Encyclopedia
Him Ganga Hum is a 23-minute documentary film produced by Greenpeace
India and Jahangirabad Media Institute
and directed by Gauhar Raza
. It begins with the Ganga (Ganges) telling her story to the viewers. It explores the impact of Global Warming
on glaciers that feed the Ganges system. Visually it covers large Gangetic region that includes shots from Gaumukh, Gangotri, Haridwar
, Kanpur, Allahabad
, Varanasi
and other important places. The documentary has interviews of both, experts and ordinary people who depend on Ganges for their survival.
, Cambodia
, Laos
, Lebanon
, Palestine
, Iran
, Iraq
and Bosnia have merged with industrial pollution and CFC gases produced primarily by the advanced world have enveloped the globe.
The ever rising global temperatures lead to slowing down of snow formation and speeding up of snow melting. Chaukhmbha- the lofty snow clad peaks- are home to many glaciers. The melting snows of the Mainnadi, Kirti, Gangotri, Meeru, Chaturangi glaciers melt to become the Bhagirithi and the same freezing waters rushing down the mountain slopes, merge into the Alakhnanda River.
In the last 30 years the Gangotri has retreated by 30 meters every year, In 1976, the Gaumukh was almost a kilometre downhill from where it is today. The average global temperature has increased by point 0.74 degrees Celsius, enough to melt thousands of tons of the snow, that shape the ganga. These snows are not likely to be recovered ever again.
Some Scientist have estimated that the Ganges will dry up in the next 40 years, others believe that it will last for another 400 years. All are, however, in agreement on one thing – the ganga will surly disappear if the global temperatures continue to rise like this. There is a very real danger of large lakes overflowing or bursting through their retaining walls, of wide spread floods in some parts and equally destructive droughts in others. The lakes will burst on the mountains and in glaciers and the plains will face the deluge that will sweep and drown all before it. As the glaciers disappear rivers will dry up and rainfall greatly reduced, this will unleash the scourge of drought. Hundreds of millions of lives will be seriously threatened if not extinguished totally. The race for super profits have pushed Ganges towards annihilation. Mother nature authored the story of creation of Ganges and it will be human beings, apparently the finest product of nature, who will write the epitaph.
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
India and Jahangirabad Media Institute
Jahangirabad Media Institute
Jahangirabad Media Institute is a media institute in India. It was established by Jahangirabad Education Trust in 2005. The institute is situated in a pictorial palace of Jahangirabad in Barabanki District in U.P state . It mainly runs courses in electronic media. Gauhar Raza, a famous urdu poet...
and directed by Gauhar Raza
Gauhar Raza
Gauhar Raza is an Indian scientist by profession, and a leading Urdu poet, social activist and documentary film maker working to popularize the understanding of science among general public, known for his films like Jung-e-Azadi, on the India's First War of Independence, and Inqilab on Bhagat Singh...
. It begins with the Ganga (Ganges) telling her story to the viewers. It explores the impact of Global Warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
on glaciers that feed the Ganges system. Visually it covers large Gangetic region that includes shots from Gaumukh, Gangotri, Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
, Kanpur, Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
and other important places. The documentary has interviews of both, experts and ordinary people who depend on Ganges for their survival.
Synopsis
The documentary asserts that in the last 100 years forests have been all but wiped off the face of the earth. The greed for profits, parading in the name of progress, has led to the creation of a maze of factories all over the world. The bombs, explosives, chemical weapons that have rained over VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Bosnia have merged with industrial pollution and CFC gases produced primarily by the advanced world have enveloped the globe.
The ever rising global temperatures lead to slowing down of snow formation and speeding up of snow melting. Chaukhmbha- the lofty snow clad peaks- are home to many glaciers. The melting snows of the Mainnadi, Kirti, Gangotri, Meeru, Chaturangi glaciers melt to become the Bhagirithi and the same freezing waters rushing down the mountain slopes, merge into the Alakhnanda River.
In the last 30 years the Gangotri has retreated by 30 meters every year, In 1976, the Gaumukh was almost a kilometre downhill from where it is today. The average global temperature has increased by point 0.74 degrees Celsius, enough to melt thousands of tons of the snow, that shape the ganga. These snows are not likely to be recovered ever again.
Some Scientist have estimated that the Ganges will dry up in the next 40 years, others believe that it will last for another 400 years. All are, however, in agreement on one thing – the ganga will surly disappear if the global temperatures continue to rise like this. There is a very real danger of large lakes overflowing or bursting through their retaining walls, of wide spread floods in some parts and equally destructive droughts in others. The lakes will burst on the mountains and in glaciers and the plains will face the deluge that will sweep and drown all before it. As the glaciers disappear rivers will dry up and rainfall greatly reduced, this will unleash the scourge of drought. Hundreds of millions of lives will be seriously threatened if not extinguished totally. The race for super profits have pushed Ganges towards annihilation. Mother nature authored the story of creation of Ganges and it will be human beings, apparently the finest product of nature, who will write the epitaph.