World Rivers Day 2022

Context

The World Rivers day is going to be celebrated on 25^th of September for the year 2022.

About

Objective: Annually celebrated to raise and spread awareness about the role and importance of rivers and other waterways and the threats that could potentially endanger the waterways around the world, as well as to promote the improved stewardship of all waterways for sustainable development.
Mark Angelo was the first to observe this day and the first Rivers day was celebrated in
The events include activities like visiting local rivers, cleaning up creeks, rowing water games etc.
In around 100 countries globally will participate in the event to spread awareness regarding saving rivers in different countries, including India.

Threats to Rivers

The Rivers in every country face an array of threats and thus need to be sustainably managed.
The Ganga and other rivers in India have been facing a serious threat from pollution, dams, construction, sand mining and other human activities, impacting people and species dependent on them for their existence.

Importance of Rivers

Rivers play an important role in ecosystem and are extremely helpful to human life.
They are one of the biggest sources of freshwater.
Rivers not only provide us with fresh drinking water, but also provide water for domestic needs (e.g., food, energy, recreation, hygiene) and agricultural purposes (e.g., irrigation).
They also provide a pathway to enable people and goods to move or transport from place to place.

Some of the Major River and Significance

The Ganga: The 2,704 km (1,680 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.
- It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas.
The Brahmaputra: The Brahmaputra originates in the Mansarovar Lake, also the source of the Indus and the Satluj.
- It flows eastward, parallel to the Himalayas. Reaching Namcha Barwa (7757 m), it takes a U-turn around it and enters India in Arunachal Pradesh and known as dihang.
Godavari: The River with second longest course within India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh (Old) Ganga or the Dakshin (South) Ganga.
- The river is about 1,450 km (900 miles) long.
- It rises at Trimbakeshwar, near Nasik and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in Maharashtra around 380 km distance from the Arabian Sea,
Indus: The Indus originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range in Tibet near Lake Manasarovar.
- It follows a north-westerly course through Tibet. It enters Indian Territory in Jammu and Kashmir.