These startups use unique ways to clean up the Ganges

Photo credit: Simon Steinberger.

The Ganges River, also known as the Ganga, is one of the largest rivers in the world. It flows for 2,525 km from the Himalayas in India to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. Over 400 million people depend on the river for their livelihoods, and it’s considered sacred in the Hindu religion.

Today, it’s also extremely polluted with industrial and human waste. Activists, environmentalists, and politicians have been trying to clean up the river for years, but it’s still facing major threats. Recently, several startups have begun working on the issue as well. Here a few of their ideas.

Help Us Green

Help Us Green, founded in 2015 by two 26-year-old entrepreneurs, is currently cleaning up floral waste along the river while also turning a profit.

The many temples, mosques, and gurudwaras along the holy Ganges produce 80 million metric tons of floral waste a year, which usually gets little attention compared to other pollutants. Much of this waste, however, ends up in the river and often contains chemicals such as pesticides and insecticides.

The startup currently collects about eight tons of floral waste around its hub at Varanasi and about 1.5 tons near its Kanpur location. It then composts this waste and uses it to make products, such as incense sticks and fertilizers.

The startup also helps local communities by providing employment to 1,200 rural families who work to collect the waste and roll it into incense sticks.

The venture has been successful and has so far been entirely self-sufficient. Its founders are now planning to grow the business further and open up seven new hubs with a plan to collect 15 to 20 tons of floral waste by 2019. They’re also working on expanding their product line to include bathing products and organic styrofoam.

Detect Technologies

Detect Technologies, founded by a group of engineers from the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras in February 2016, have developed a solution for pollution from oil and gas pipelines.

Pipeline leaks have, in the past, led to major pollution incidents in the Ganges. Detect’s technology is designed to help prevent and detect these oil and gas spills.

The group of young engineers developed the Guided Ultrasonic Monitoring of Pipeline Systems (GUMPS), a patented technology that monitors pipeline systems in real time and alerts plants about potential leaks.

The technology debuted successfully at a large Indian refinery, and the startup is now preparing to work with other refineries around the world.

The startup’s founders aren’t limiting themselves either. They say they have more ideas that they hope to work on in the future.

Omnipresent Robot Tech Pvt. Ltd.

A Delhi-based tech company with a futuristic-sounding name has developed technology for cleaning up pollution in the Ganga.

Praj Industries

Water Revive

NaanDanJain

India’s Startup Scene