India court gives sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers human status

March 21, 2017
BBC News

A court in northern Indian has given the Ganges and Yamuna rivers the status of “living human entities”.

The high court in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand said this would help in the “preservation and conservation” of the highly polluted rivers.

It added that the “legal status” ensures that polluting the rivers would now amount to harming a human being.

Both rivers are considered sacred in India and are considered goddesses by the majority Hindu population.