Mumbai: An Indian court has declared the sacred Ganges and Yamuna rivers living entities, giving them the same legal rights as human beings, in a move analysts say may do little to protect them or keep them clean.
The legal order comes just days after New Zealand declared its Whanganui river a living entity and appointed two guardians to protect its interests, making it the first river in the world to be given these rights.
The high court in India's northern Uttarakhand state on Monday said the Ganges and its longest tributary, the Yamuna - both held sacred by millions of Hindus - have the right to be legally protected and not be harmed, and can be parties to disputes.
The court ordered that the two rivers be represented by the chief of the National Mission for Clean Ganga - a government body overseeing projects and conservation of the Ganges - as well as the state's chief secretary and advocate general.
"This will help protect the rivers, as they now have all the constitutional and statutory rights of human beings, including the right to life," said M.C. Pant, a lawyer for the public interest litigation against the state for inaction in clearing encroachments on the banks of the Yamuna.
The Ganges, a transboundary source of water for millions, flows more than 2500km from the Himalayas in northern India through Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal.
Believed by Indians to have miraculous healing powers, the Ganges is also one of the world's filthiest rivers, with tonnes of raw sewage and industrial waste dumped into it daily.
ReutersÂ