It means that poor people who drink or bathe in that stuff when they don't have to are idiots.

Agreed. But here's the deal. The number of people drinking Ganges water to quench thirst is extremely rare if not nil. Almost all of the country, no matter how poor, has access to atleast deep tube-wells.While that water is not pure, it is much better than drinking directly from the river. It is a tradition though that sometimes during occasions, people need to taste Ganges water as holy water. Most educated people decline that, and even those who don't, don't swallow. you are supposed to touch it with the tip of your tongue to cleanse yourself or some shit like that.

Bathing is rampant near the holy city of Varanasi and it is purely religion and belief based. Also I think you'll find it interesting that not all of Ganges is filthy. Ganges before it hits Varanasi is still holy and plenty of people drink or bathe in it and it is not that bad because the dumping of body filth mostly happens in Varanasi. I guess you need a visit to Gangotri to change your views, ever so slightly about that river.

But all said and done, there are just plain idiots who drink or bathe in it for fun, or as you say because of poverty. Now that is a kind of poverty that most of modern world can't even imagine. No amount of reading books and watching documentaries will give you the real picture! Add to that religion, lack of education, shut out from outside world and ignorance, and then you see, calling them idiots is not fair. Because that is all they know. Yes they'll die from tuberculosis and blame it on their heredity with a smile, for e.g. " it is the disease of my father and grand father!" implying it happens in his family often and he is kinda proud to go away how his predecessors went. Now would you call that idiocy?

Bottomline? people who don't have to actually don't. And people who do, they have no choice.

Edit: I support what you've otherwise said, that it does give rise to dormant diseases and affects in a bad way. I have no intentions defending a river being so filthy that it threatens life. But it is an unsolvable problem. You cannot ask Hindus to stop dumping bodies into that damned river. They just wouldn't listen. I dunno what measures can be taken to clean it though. I grew up next to the river when it almost reaches its delta, and it is not so bad then.It would be nice to have it clean though. But it is true that I never get the flu while all my non-Indian and Indian friends from other parts are always down come the flu season. My original statement was to add hilarity to the overall discussion though. You made it waaay too serious.