Ganges waste dumping banned by Indian court

    The dumping of waste into the Ganges river has been banned by an Indian court.

    India's top environment court has ruled that waste cannot be left within 500 metres of a heavily polluted stretch of the river.

    The National Green Tribunal (NGT) said the 500km (310-mile) stretch between Haridwar in Uttarakhand state and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh required urgent action.

    Anybody who now disposes of waste in the river could be fined up to 50,000 rupees (£600; $775).

    The orders are legally binding but can be challenged in the courts.

    The ruling comes after the Supreme Court in India had earlier decided that a declaration from a High Court in Uttarakhand state, that the Ganges should have the same legal rights as humans, was legally unsustainable.

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