agricultural runoff
Figure 2 pesticide use in Asian countries (Abhilash, 2009)
For India's rapidly growing population the importance of agricultural production is very high. Pesticides became a main resource of
agricultural activity during the green revolution (1960's) and their
use/production is still increasing today.
Even with the massive amount of pesticides applied; pest related crop
loss is an estimated 45% annually (Abhilash, 2009). The Ganges basin is ideal for crop production
because of the readily available sources of water. Pesticides enter rivers in many possible ways:
improper application, over application and lack of training are a couple
examples. A key problem in India is the
low literacy rate among farmers, making the written instructions on pesticide
containers noneffective (Abhilash, 2009). Much of the Indian population drinks straight
from a river source; making them extremely prone to adverse health
effects. Among the many pesticides in use in India today, is DDT. Although banned for agricultural use in 1989,
the main use of DDT in India is malaria control; killing mosquitoes (Malik,
2007). Multiple studies conducted on the Hugli estuary (arm of the Ganges river)
found new and old traces of DDT in the sediments at varying levels. Implying that the chemical is still in use in
the area and can still be detected from past use (Guzzella, 2005). The Indian government is limited to 10,000 tons of DDT per year, however the illegal use of DDT among farmers is common (Abhilash, 2009). India is one of only two countries (U.S.) to have applied over 100,000 tons of DDT since its creation in 1939 (Abhilash, 2009). The mistakes made by farmers, governmental
organizations and the Indian government have devastated much of the Ganges
basin with toxic chemicals, such as DDT.