Ganga, Yamuna are now legally people; Is it a start of looking after them?

In the space of a week, the world has gained three notable new legal persons: the Whanganui River in New Zealand, and the Ganga and Yamuna Rivers in India.

In New Zealand, the government passed legislation that recognised the Whanganui River catchment as a legal person. This significant legal reform emerged from the longstanding Treaty of Waitangi negotiations and is a way of formally acknowledging the special relationship local M?ori have with the river.

In India, the Uttarakhand high court ruled that the Ganga