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The TLDR: Over recent weeks, images and videos of the Yamuna covered with toxic foam have sparked outrage, despair and, inevitably, political blame-mongering. We look at why our great river is in such dire shape.
First: What’s happening now
In what has become an annual ritual around Diwali, images and videos of people dunking themselves in a foam-covered Yamuna to mark Chhath puja went viral. AAP-governed Delhi blamed BJP-led Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for the sad state of affairs. The BJP in turn pointed its finger at the Delhi government—accusing it of banning puja celebrations to hide the extent of pollution.
The Delhi government made frantic efforts to dissipate the froth—to allow worshippers to take a foam-free dip—as opposed to taking steps to actually cleaning the river. For example, by spraying fresh water on the surface, putting up barricades and finally, deploying 15 speedboats with ropes to skim off the foam.
Foolish and dangerous: All these efforts at ‘image management’ disguise the fact that bathing in the Yamuna is a great health hazard. A July report showed that the level of fecal coliform—microbes from human and animal excreta—in the river was as high as 1,40,000 microbes per 100 ml of water. That’s 280 times the recommended level of 500 per 100 ml or less. Strange data point to note: Back in 2011, the fecal coliform levels were 1.1 billion per 100 ml—and the river certainly isn’t any cleaner today.
In any case, as a leading expert makes it clear: “Almost no stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi is safe for bathing. Water with such high levels of fecal coliform can lead to skin infection on external contact and water borne diseases if ingested.”
Big point to note: The Yamuna in Delhi is an “ecologically dead river.” It is so dirty there haven’t been any fish or freshwater birds for years.
Why is the Yamuna filthy?
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