As the river Ganges is sacred, bathing in it helps us get rid of the sins we have committed in our previous life. There are some apparent limitations to this. Only sins committed unknowingly shall be ripped off. If you have knowingly committed a sin, and now you really repent for it, then also, the fruits of your sin can be avoided by bathing in Ganges. Experts estimate that more than 3000 million litres of untreated sewage from these towns along the Ganges are pumped into the river every day. By the time it reaches Varanasi, whose untreated sewage (or most of it) is also pumped into the waters, it becomes a sewer and the sixth most polluted river in the world.According to Mishra, who also runs the Sankat Mochan Foundation which campaigns to clean the Ganges, scientists in the foundation’s laboratories have found the river has a faecal coliform count of more than 1.5 million per 100ml of water. Water regarded as safe for bathing should not contain more than 500 faecal coliform per 100ml, so bathing in the Ganges is only for the strong-hearted or those with blind faith.