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Dry run

Dry run the river Ganga may not flow for ever. Studies show that the source of the river the Gangotri glacier is shrinking at an alarming rate. If the trend continues, the river may dry up in about thousand years. Deepak Srivastava, director of glaciology division, Geological Survey of India (gsi), says Gangotri is shrinking very fast.

Studies conducted by experts in glaciology confirm a continuous recession of the Gangotri glacier in the past decades. Indian Air Force pilots have also found that the glacier is contracting from all sides and the rate has increased in the last 10 years. gsi studies show that while the rate of retreat was slow between 1935 and 1956, it increased faster in the subsequent years. Recession in terms of total area was of the order of 2,530 square metres in 1935. It increased by two and a half times during the 1956-62 period and five times during the 1962-71 period, says the gsi study.

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