Now is the time!
The man behind ‘We for Yamuna Campaign’, Vimlendu Jha, talks about the need for both the residents and the government bodies to tighten their belts to save River Yamuna 雄asmin Taj
Please share a few details about the ‘We for Yamuna’ Campaign? What are the main highlights of this programme?
The ‘We for Yamuna Campaign’ that started in the year 2000 has come a long way in the last eight years庸rom being a youth driven campaign to now a recognised organisation called Swechha. Our efforts to save the river were recognised worldwide. In 2006-07, Swechha organised and facilitated the ‘Youth Yatra’ for the European Union. The Youth Yatra was a space where youth leaders from India, Sri Lanka, Finland, and the UK came together to learn and brainstorm on issues around the environment and citizenship issues.
The ‘We for Yamuna Campaign’ that started in the year 2000 has come a long way in the last eight years庸rom being a youth driven campaign to now a recognised organisation called Swechha. Our efforts to save the river were recognised worldwide. In 2006-07, Swechha organised and facilitated the ‘Youth Yatra’ for the European Union. The Youth Yatra was a space where youth leaders from India, Sri Lanka, Finland, and the UK came together to learn and brainstorm on issues around the environment and citizenship issues.
It has been observed that despite many such programmes and initiatives, the state of affairs remains more or less the same. What’s your take on this?
The state of affairs as far as the Yamuna and the environment is concerned is changing slowly, but surely. We do see a lot more public participation and ownership on issues of the environment today. A large number of youth groups at colleges and schools are willing to take up initiatives to green their surroundings.
The state of affairs as far as the Yamuna and the environment is concerned is changing slowly, but surely. We do see a lot more public participation and ownership on issues of the environment today. A large number of youth groups at colleges and schools are willing to take up initiatives to green their surroundings.
What do you think is the biggest problem that Yamuna is facing at present?
The biggest threat to the Yamuna and its survival today is the lack of political will to recognise and invest proportional efforts into a water body which can never have any other alternative.
The biggest threat to the Yamuna and its survival today is the lack of political will to recognise and invest proportional efforts into a water body which can never have any other alternative.
How grave is the situation? Do we have reasons to feel alarmed?
There indeed are reasons to feel alarmed and these are:
* 70 percent of Delhi’s drinking water comes from the Yamuna and 95 percent of the city’s sewage flows untreated into the same river. The Delhi stretch of Yamuna is only 22 kms, and yet the city contributes to more than 80 percent of the total pollution in the river. Delhi contributes around 3500 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage into the river mostly illegally.
* The government claims that it has spend more than 1800 crore in cleaning the Yamuna as part of the Yamuna Action Plan. However, Yamuna remains as black as ever, perhaps even blacker. By the time the river leaves Delhi, it is clinically dead with dissolved oxygen level as low as 0 mg/litre.
* In Delhi, thousands of slum colonies along the Yamuna have been demolished despite of the fact that slums account for less than 2 percent of the pollution in the river. Paradoxically, the Akshardham Temple, The Delhi Secretariat and the Commonwealth Games Site have been allowed to flourish on the flood plain.
There indeed are reasons to feel alarmed and these are:
* 70 percent of Delhi’s drinking water comes from the Yamuna and 95 percent of the city’s sewage flows untreated into the same river. The Delhi stretch of Yamuna is only 22 kms, and yet the city contributes to more than 80 percent of the total pollution in the river. Delhi contributes around 3500 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage into the river mostly illegally.
* The government claims that it has spend more than 1800 crore in cleaning the Yamuna as part of the Yamuna Action Plan. However, Yamuna remains as black as ever, perhaps even blacker. By the time the river leaves Delhi, it is clinically dead with dissolved oxygen level as low as 0 mg/litre.
* In Delhi, thousands of slum colonies along the Yamuna have been demolished despite of the fact that slums account for less than 2 percent of the pollution in the river. Paradoxically, the Akshardham Temple, The Delhi Secretariat and the Commonwealth Games Site have been allowed to flourish on the flood plain.
What immediate steps are needed?
* Water conservation
* The less waste we generate, the less goes into our rivers
* Stop dumping of religious waste in it
* Establish community sewage treatment plants to ensure less polluted water into the Yamuna
* Ensure that drains in each locality are connected to other larger drains
* The less waste we generate, the less goes into our rivers
* Stop dumping of religious waste in it
* Establish community sewage treatment plants to ensure less polluted water into the Yamuna
* Ensure that drains in each locality are connected to other larger drains
Is Yamuna the only river in the country that is in danger?
Some rivers that are in similar state include the Ganga, Meethi, Hindon. Other rivers including the Narmada and Bhagirathi have been reduced to canals owing to excessive dams.
Some rivers that are in similar state include the Ganga, Meethi, Hindon. Other rivers including the Narmada and Bhagirathi have been reduced to canals owing to excessive dams.