Since then pollution in the river has increased by over twofold. What effect this pollution has on the bathers is not yet fully documented, but the cows don't seem to mind. For cows, too, have their own ghats. A stone's throw from the humans, herds of water buffalo wallow in the grime of the Ganges. The cow is sacred in all of India, and it seems that the holier the city, the more free rein the beast has.
Cattle are everywhere.
In Varanasi train station a cow lingers in the ticket line oblivious to the throngs of travelers. A stroll though the rat-infested warren of tiny streets and alleyways in the older part of the city is often blocked by a cow. Like any animal, they deposit their detritus at random. The lumps of indiscriminately dumped dung adding further difficulty to the navigation of the maze of streets. Outside of the alleyways of the old section, the traffic commotion returns.