The World Bank has agreed to lend funds worth $1bn (£600mn) to India during the next five years to clean up the Ganges, one of the most polluted rivers in the world.

The 2,500km long river has been severely polluted with industrial wastes, farm pesticides and other sewage.

World Bank chief, Robert Zoellick said that the clean up would target the entire river network.

The funds would be utilized in building sewage treatment plants, revamping drains and other measures to improve water quality.

The loans are a part of the Indian government's multi-billion dollar initiative to end the discharge of untreated waste into the river by 2020.

Environmentalists say that the river supports over 400 million people, and if the pollution is not controlled, it will end the communities living along banks.

Previous attempts to clean up the river to make it drinkable by 1989 had failed.

Mr. Zoellick said that in the past the efforts emphasized the individual aspects like sewage emissions too much rather than concentrating on the whole. However, he was confident that the plan would work out this time.

He added that since the Ganges was considered a sacred river by the Hindus, it was common to see floating corpses in the river.

The Indian finance ministry said that World Bank would triple its lending to $7 bn this year for development, infrastructure and other projects.