Urgent Actions to Save River Yamuna - Arvinder S Brara

URGENT ACTIONS TO SAVE RIVER YAMUNA

Arvinder S Brara Environmentalist CMD, Mantec Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

It was an eye opening and very useful visit to observe the pollution in River Yamuna on Saturday, 4th May, 2019, organized by the American Center. Based on the observations made, suggestions are given for the public at large, NGOs, RWAs and Government Bodies for actions which need to be taken urgently.

River Yamuna – Current Scenario

1. In the last two decades more than Rs.6,500 crores has been spent to clean the River Yamuna. However the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has stated that the polluted stretch of Yamuna has increased from 500 km to 600 km.

To support aquatic life, water should have 4.0 mg/l Dissolved Oxygen. The values of the parameter in the River Yamuna vary from 0.0 mg/l at Wazirabad Barrage in Delhi to 3.7 mg/l at Agra.

Water pollution is measured by measuring its Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels and the permissible range is 3 mg/l or less. For the most polluted stretch of the Yamuna it ranges from 14 to 28 mg/l. The BOD is increasing because there are numerous untreated sewage drains which dump polluted water into the River Yamuna. Photo 01: Author with Mr. Vimlendo Jha, Environmentalist on the trip to review pollution in River Yamuna

Wherever the group went it was evident that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was still to be adopted and practiced. The message regarding cleanliness needed to be still disseminated; garbage was strewn all along the banks amidst the green patches of trees and shrubs. There were squatters and slums, dwelling places for humans and animals. Delhi, with its population of one crore ninety lakhs straddles over 22 kilometers of Yamuna and depends on it for 70% of its water supply. While Delhi constitutes less than 2% of the river’s total length, it contributes to about 80% of the Yamuna’s total pollution load and Agra contributes about 11%.

During the very short stretch, for the Yamuna is 1,376 kilometers long, through Delhi, effluents and sewage from local industries and residential colonies have been allowed to flow into the river, which has resulted in this stretch of the river being clinically dead by all water quality indicators. As the team walked along with the Guide, the latter’s enlightening commentary on the state of River Yamuna only served to portray how URGENTLY ACTION is needed to SAVE the River Yamuna. The visit started at Khajuri Khas/ Sonia Vihar 5 km upstream

of Delhi, where the Guide informed the river has a thriving eco-system and serves as a source of livelihood for fishermen and farmers. Most of Delhi’s drinking water comes from that area. Although the river looks clean at that location, it is highly polluted due to the presence of fertilizers and pesticides coming in with agricultural run-offs. Next the team went to Wazirabad Barrage, the point where the River Yamuna enters Delhi. The barrage was constructed for flood control and irrigation purposes, but it now also serves as a political boundary between Delhi and Haryana. The gates of this barrage are usually closed for 8-9 months in a year, allowing a very low quantity of fresh water into the river in the Delhi stretch.

Thereafter the team moved to the Najafgarh Drain, which the old maps of Delhi and Rajasthan describe as ‘Sahibi River’ while in reality out of the 20 drains of Delhi, this is the biggest and blackest one and dumps 1500 million liters of waste water into the River Yamuna every day. The team then moved to Kudsia Ghat, opposite Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT). While boat ride was enjoyable at the ghat, more waste was seen polluting the river. It was primarily waste generated by religious activities and wastes from the adjoining Nigambodh Cremation ground—the biggest one in Delhi.

The Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) is for cleaning the river. Since 1993, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Government of Japan (JICA) has been assisting the Government of India to clean the River Yamuna in phases; 39 sewage treatment plants in 29 towns of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi were built in Phase I of the plan. Around Rs1,500 crore has been spent under Yamuna Action Plans I and II but the plight of Yamuna River is still far from satisfactory as the basic requirement to curb the daily pollutants into the River has still to be enforced.

2. The burning of dead bodies on the banks of River Yamuna including at Nigambodh Ghat and then letting some of the half burned bodies float away in the river needs to be stopped immediately and a heavy fine imposed for any such act. There is a crematorium provided for use nearby, the use of which must be enforced so that such blatant polluting of River Yamuna is stopped.

3. The ‘Sahibi River’ which used to join the River Yamuna is now known as the Najafgarh Nala which discharges black colored, foul smelling and highly polluted water in to the River Yamuna. It is imperative that this polluted water be first properly treated before letting it flow into the river. The ETP set up for treating effluent from the Nala is not meeting required standards hence foul and polluted water is still being let into River. Photo 02: Nigambodh Ghat - bodies are cremated on river bank and half burnt bodies consigned to River Yamuna.

Photo 03: Najafgarh drain - used to be ‘Sahibi River’, is now polluting River Yamuna.

4. It was noticed that posh cars drive up on to the Shadara Bridge, park on the side and throw garbage into the River Yamuna. This needs to be stopped URGENTLY. At least one policeman needs to be deputed on the bridge to ensure that such dumping of garbage is stopped and the concerned municipal authority asked to put CCTV cameras to record the registration number of the vehicles which violate. Signage also needs to be prominently put on the approaches to the bridge that anyone throwing anything in to the river would be fined and the same needs to be enforced strictly and systematically.

5. To control floating debris, it is suggested that Trashnet debris control systems be installed at every two kilometer on the 22 km stretch of River Yamuna passing through Delhi. The Guide informed that in the US, the Trashnet Debris Control Systems are used to effectively manage floatables. Details of the Trashnet Debris Control Systems are given below. Such systems could be installed to properly utilize a fraction of the unspent money allocated for the Yamuna Cleanup Action Plan.

Corrective actions need to be taken urgently by Member Secretary, DPCC, Chief Minister, Delhi Shri Arvind Kerjiwal and Hon’ble Minister of MOEF&CC, Shri Prakash Javadekar to ensure the implementation of the above 5 action points appropriately to save River Yamuna.

Photo 04: Shadhara Bridge where vehicles stop and dump garbage in River Yamuna.

Environment Protection

Waterway Protection