In the Ganges River Basin for example, one of the most heavily populated river basins in the world, the river is not only a lifeline to millions of people who depend on it for their daily needs, but also regarded by Hindus as the most sacred river. People bring their dead to the river, whether bodies or ashes, to send them to the next world. Sometimes, if a family cannot afford firewood for cremation, a partly burned corpse is thrown into the water. For the living, bathing in the Ganges is just as important, to wash away their sins in these holy waters.