Tracing the journey of the river of life

New release: Discovery Networks MD Deepak Shourie (middle), musician O.S. Arun (left) and Prof. R.K. Sinha of Patna University releasing CD of the series ‘Ganges’ to be aired on Discovery Channel, in New Delhi.

The Ganga shares an intimate relationship with the country’s civilisation, religion, commerce and ecology. Tracing the course of this mighty river, all the way from the Himalayas to the sea, covering varied forms of life, cultural and religious beliefs is Discovery Channel’s brand new three-part series beginning October 24.

Tilted ‘Ganges’, the series comprehensively covers the multiple manifestations of this holy river. It will also cover architectural wonders along its path including the Taj Mahal and the holy cities of Hardwar, Allahabad and Varanasi.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Deepak Shourie of Discovery Networks (India) said, “The Ganga touches almost every aspect of our existence from life to death, from livelihood to meditation and from pleasure to salvation. The very spirit of the country is awash with the waters of the Ganga,” he added.

Pointing out that there exists a close relationship between the people and the animals that live in the Ganga and by its banks since time immemorial, Prof. R. K. Sinha of the University of Patna said, “We still have not been able to document all the flora and fauna in the Ganga and its floodplains. Despite pressure from the human population and development activities like construction of dams, the Ganga is still sustaining a rich flora and fauna.”

‘Daughter of the Mountains’ on October 24 will tell viewers how river Ganga brings life from the cold peaks of the Himalayas to their lush foothills and how she has shaped Indian culture and religion. For 5,000 years empires have flourished and fallen along the banks of the Ganga. ‘River of Life’ on October 31 will explore how the Mughals built magnificent palaces and diverted the river’s waters into huge irrigation canals to create vast agricultural fields.

Viewers will discover how people and wild animals co-exist in inhospitable habitat in ‘Waterland’ that will be aired on November 7.

Cairn India to start second-phase survey in Bihar

Cairn Energy Search India (CESIL) is all set to begin this week its second phase of survey in Bihar's Gangetic basin for oil and natural gas.

'Cairn India will start a seismic survey within a week,' a CESIL official said here Tuesday.
CESIL completed an aero magnetic survey earlier this month. The exploration work was formally started in January with the launch of the aero magnetic survey.

According to CESIL officials, the seismic survey will be conducted in Samastipur, Darbhanga and Madhubani districts of the Ganges basin.

'At least 500-line km of data will be acquired during the survey,' the officials said. 'A small team of experts will place marker pegs on the ground and drill shallow holes along each survey line with satellite navigation equipment.'

The survey by the Edinburgh-based exploration firm and its sister concern, Cairn Energy Search India Ltd, in the basin comprising 13 districts spread over 15,500 sq km is to collect information about structures below the surface.

A specially designed, high-tech airplane was hired from Canada Sunday to conduct the survey, geological department sources said.

According to independent estimates, reserves in the Ganges basin, known locally as the Purina basin, could be as high as 465 million tonnes of crude and natural gas.

Experts said the reserves could be tapped after drilling up to 4,400 metres. The government will get 10 percent royalty for every tonne extracted.