<P> The first European traveller to mention the Ganges was Megasthenes (ca . 350--290 BCE). He did so several times in his work Indica: "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in the mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges . Now this river, which at its source is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the Gangaridai, a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest - sized elephants ." (Diodorus II. 37) In the rainy season of 1809, the lower channel of the Bhagirathi, leading to Kolkata, had been entirely shut; but in the following year it opened again, and was nearly of the same size with the upper channel; both however suffered a considerable diminution, owing probably to the new communication opened below the Jalanggi on the upper channel . </P> <P> In 1951 a water sharing dispute arose between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), after India declared its intention to build the Farakka Barrage . The original purpose of the barrage, which was completed in 1975, was to divert up to 1,100 m / s (39,000 cu ft / s) of water from the Ganges to the Bhagirathi - Hooghly distributary in order to restore navigability at the Port of Kolkata . It was assumed that during the worst dry season the Ganges flow would be around 1,400 to 1,600 m / s (49,000 to 57,000 cu ft / s), thus leaving 280 to 420 m / s (9,900 to 14,800 cu ft / s) for the then East Pakistan . East Pakistan objected and a protracted dispute ensued . In 1996 a 30 - year treaty was signed with Bangladesh . The terms of the agreement are complicated, but in essence they state that if the Ganges flow at Farakka was less than 2,000 m / s (71,000 cu ft / s) then India and Bangladesh would each receive 50% of the water, with each receiving at least 1,000 m / s (35,000 cu ft / s) for alternating ten - day periods . However, within a year the flow at Farakka fell to levels far below the historic average, making it impossible to implement the guaranteed sharing of water . In March 1997, flow of the Ganges in Bangladesh dropped to its lowest ever, 180 m / s (6,400 cu ft / s). Dry season flows returned to normal levels in the years following, but efforts were made to address the problem . One plan is for another barrage to be built in Bangladesh at Pangsha, west of Dhaka . This barrage would help Bangladesh better utilise its share of the waters of the Ganges . </P> <P> The Ganges is a sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length . All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and to their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas). On the journey back home from the Ganges, they carry small quantities of river water with them for use in rituals (Ganga jal, literally water of the Ganges). </P> <P> The Ganges is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology . Local rivers are said to be like the Ganges, and are sometimes called the local Ganges (Ganga). The Kaveri river of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in Southern India is called the Ganges of the South; the Godavari, is the Ganges that was led by the sage Gautama to flow through Central India . The Ganges is invoked whenever water is used in Hindu ritual, and is therefore present in all sacred waters . In spite of this, nothing is more stirring for a Hindu than a dip in the actual river, which is thought to remit sins, especially at one of the famous tirthas such as Gangotri, Haridwar, Prayag, or Varanasi . The symbolic and religious importance of the Ganges is one of the few things that Hindu India, even its skeptics, are agreed upon . Jawaharlal Nehru, a religious iconoclast himself, asked for a handful of his ashes to be thrown into the Ganges . "The Ganga," he wrote in his will, "is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats . She has been a symbol of India's age - long culture and civilization, ever - changing, ever - flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga ." </P>

What ocean does the ganges river flow into