00:00We're having a lot of froth floating on its surface, and this is not for the first time.
00:22We've actually seen it several times.
00:23In fact, throughout the year, there's froth in the river, and it's an absolute travesty
00:27of environmental governance in Delhi.
00:30You know, there are many causes, and the causes of that pollution is actually known, because
00:33there are sources, there are industrial sewage that is actually dumped into the river without
00:38treatment, there's a lot of municipal waste, almost 3,500 million litres of waste that
00:42is actually dumped into the river every day.
00:44But primary responsibility of Yamuna's pollution is Delhi's own pollution, the 17 drains that
00:49actually empty into Yamuna in Delhi is the main cause.
00:53And the froth is only an indication of the kind of chemicals, the kind of froth, the
00:57kind of effluents that actually is dumped through municipal sources, as well as through
01:02industrial sources.
01:03The river only froths a lot on a few days, but actually froths throughout.
01:08Yamuna's water is black throughout the year, minus the months when it actually rains.
01:12So, you know, the pollution gets visible on some occasions, like what has been happening
01:17for the last couple of days, but the river is literally dead throughout the year.
01:21Water quality of Yamuna is completely E-class, as an as per Central Pollution Control Board,
01:26the water quality is not even fit for animal bathing, it's only fit for industrial cooling.
01:30If you look at the froth, and there's also fumes, there's methane coming out of the river
01:34at various occasions, a completely dead river with no aquatic life, the coliform levels
01:39are actually high, there's hardly any dissolved oxygen in the river, all the parameters of
01:45a safe surface water, of a safe river, that goes for a toss when it comes to river Yamuna.
01:50Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers, and it's been polluted, and has stayed polluted
01:54for more than a decade and a half, or two decades for that matter, and still, we have
01:59not really seen any kind of political will or political urgency to solve this crisis.
02:04It has a direct impact on people who actually go and bathe in the river.
02:07We have Chhat Pooja coming, and there'll be lakhs of people who'll actually be taking
02:11a holy dip in the river.
02:13Such toxic water, when it comes in contact with skin, has harmful impact, of course there
02:19are skin disorders, to breathing disorders, to also cancer-related issues that perhaps
02:24can happen.
02:25So it is not just an environmental concern, but it's also a public health concern that
02:30river Yamuna actually poses for citizens of Delhi.
02:33Delhi Pollution Control Committee needs to be more active, it's understaffed, Delhi government
02:38has to be more proactive, as in they keep allocating resources, but we don't really
02:43know where those resources are going.
02:45This is the primary responsibility of Delhi Jal Board, both drinking water supply as well
02:49as the sewage management is the responsibility of Delhi Jal Board, which comes directly under
02:54Delhi government, and I think it's very important that they actually take concrete steps to
02:58curb it.
02:59We will have to have a short-term, medium-term and long-term plan.
03:01We can't just say, we can't always claim helplessness, because if you start moving, if you know that
03:08there are polluting industries, if you know that your sewage treatment plants and effluent
03:12treatment plants are not really efficient and effective, then you need to do something
03:16about it very, very soon.
Comments