Having just spent some time at Varanasi, it is definitely widely believed bathing in the river and having your cremated ashes thrown in it has religious benefit

Having just spent some time at Varanasi, it is definitely widely believed bathing in the river and having your cremated ashes thrown in it has religious benefits. In just 1 day over 200 people were cremated at a temple close to where we were staying to have their ashes dumped in the river. I think it would be hard to just ignore the religious angle.