From Ganga to Antarctica: Eight women gear up for expedition to highlight clean water shortage

To highlight the increasing scarcity of clean water, eight women from six continents will undertake an 'Access Water' expedition, with their first project being on the Ganga. They will stop in seven places on their journey from Gangotri to the Bay of Bengal.

Mumbai resident Krushna Patil, 24, will be the youngest member of the expedition.

The expedition has been organised by the Bancroft-Arnesen Foundation, whose co-founders Ann Banncroft and Liv Arnesen too will take part in it.

"Water scarcity is such a major problem in today's world, in fact, it is rumoured that the third world war will be fought for water. We picked the Ganges for our first expedition because it is one of the five most polluted rivers in the world. So, we will raft down the river from Gomukh to the Bay of Bengal and interact with the locals en route because they are the key to change," said Arnesen.

Patil, the only Indian in the group, said, "It's such an exciting expedition to be a part of and I'm really looking forward to interacting with the locals, because they're the ones who face the maximum problems due to growing water pollution. We're all very passionate about the issue and are going with the intention of finding a solution to the problem, even from children. In fact, I'm sure that children, with their original thought and imagination, will have many innovative suggestions."

Patil is a mountaineer and the youngest Indian woman to have scaled Mount Everest.

After the Ganga, the team will visit each continent every few years, ending the Access Water series with a journey to Antarctica.