India Warnings Or Dangers Tips by Hmmmm Top 5 Page for this destination

Don't swim in the Ganges Like the Bufala below!

The River Ganges is very Holy, and very venerarated, But it also has one of the worst pollution and microbial ratings in the world.

Studies conducted in 1983 on water samples taken from the right bank of the Ganga at Patna confirm that escheria coliform (E.Coli.), fecal streptococci and vibrio cholerae organisms die two to three times faster in the Ganga than in water from other rivers.

The principal sources of pollution in the Ganga are domestic and industrial wastes. Conservative estimates put the effluents flowing into Ganga at approximately 1.7 billion litres each day out of which 1.4 billion litres is untreated.

The Ganga basin is home to over 300 million people, out of which 20 million live in densely populated cities directly along it banks. Most of the urban centres lack proper sewage treatment facilities. 88% of the pollution originates in 27 cities located along the banks. While industrial pollution accounts for only about a quarter of the whole problem, it is by no means insignificant since most of it is concentrated in specific areas and the effluents are more hazardous. The state of Uttar Pradesh alone is responsible for over 50% of the pollutants entering the river along its entire journey to the sea.

Domestic and industrial pollution, combined with deforestation, use of pesticides and fertilisers and other factors, have rendered the water of Ganga unfit for drinking or bathing.

Upstream from Varanasi, one of the major pigrimage sites along the river, the water is comparatively pure, having a low Bio-Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) and Fecal Coliform Count. However, once the river enters the city these levels rise alarmingly. Measurements taken at the city's various bathing ghats during a few years ago show that the average B.O.D of the water rises by over 1300 percent. The average Fecal Coliform Count at the ghats is over 6000 times what it is before the river enters the city.

Website: http://www.ecofriends.org/reports/031worldwaterday.htm

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs - Be Careful.

In the west dogs are our beloved pets, extensions of our families. In India some dogs are pets, some life of the fringes oh human society, and others are wild. They hang around in packs, eating whatever they can.

Be very careful of dogs in India. Some carry Rabies, which is an AWFUL potentially fatal disease in Humans. Also many do attack and bite.

My friend and I were walking home from the the pub one night in Goa, when we passed a small pack of dogs. We didn't look them in the eye as one should never do, and walked on. We walked passed and all was well. We walked about 30 metres when one of the dogs rain after us for no reason and bit my friend on the bum. Luckily she was wearing thick trousers and the bite didn't break the skin.

If you do get bitten by a dog. do go and get a Rabies vacination quick smart.

Website: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/

Sunstroke - in Some parts of India its Dangerous.

I was staying in a Hilaveli, on the you can see it a little in the picture. It was made of a beautiful golden sandstone that Jaisalmer is famous for. Anyway one afternoon I thought I'd take a nap. All I had drunk that morning was tea and Fanta. I was not drinking water because well I didn't trust it (Silly silly me).

Jaisalmer regularly hits 45+ degrees in the dry season. Also being the dry season, airborne humidity is very very low indeed, so you don't have to be a meteorologist to know that a dry air, and a hot sun, will draw humidity from anywhere.

My girlfriend drank water. She awoke rerfreshed allbeit a little thirsty. I on the other hand woke up freezing, shivering, my teeth where chattering in the heat. Soon I was nauseous, vomiting, and shaking. I was taking lots of showers to keep cool. I knew I had heat stroke.

I went downstairs, the manager was there, and its cooler there. I used his shower and the he told my gf to go and by medicine. By this time was was zoning in and out of consciousness. And I had pins and needles in my mouth. My feet and hands were cramping. I was scared to &^%* if I lost consciousness there, how were they going to rehydrate my blood. 30 minutes later (in the nick of time) my gf turned up with electrolytes.

When you are in the Desert. drink alot of water, you lose more water through eveporation that you think. second pack some sachets of electrolytes in your bag. mix them with water and take them slowly. They work so well. The flat, water mixed softdrinks don't work with acute sunstroke (Thermic fever) that I had.

Website: http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/diseases/Sunstroke.asp

Water - Hmmmm?

India is a crazy place. But one of the biggest concerns is water, in particulat drinking water.

If you are like me, and don't really enjoy foreign stomach microfauna, helping you with your weightloss, then you will be a little cagey about drinking the water in India. Never drink tap water. That goes without saying. Often this water comes straight out of an OPEN well. Even if it doesn't, the filtration systems, and chemical treatment is not even close to par. So its best to drink bottled water.

If you are in the main centres, and tourist centres this is a good idea. water is mass produced and usaully treated and then blasted with UV rays.

However if you are in Rural areas, and smaller towns, then often bottled water cannot be trusted. the bottles are refilled and re-sealed with un-treated water. I read a report that reported a water factory pumping water into bottles straight from a nearby stream. So one should always be vigilant.

If you are cagey about bottled water, you caould always drink soft drink (Soda) as they are manufactured under strict international standards. but then that may mean having to brush your teeth more, which takes us back to ahhhhh - bottled water.

I drank Chai. lots of it. and I drank tea. lots of it.

Other Contact: http://www.uswaternews.com/archi

Website: http://www.indbazaar.com/consumerguide/index2.asp?ct=23