While the capital is preparing for Mark World Environment Day on June 5, the deterioration state of the Yamuna flow throws a long, toxic shadow over every celebration.
Despite decades of cleaning initiatives, significant public expenditure and strict political statements, India’s most holy flow continues to have a severe ecological crisis.
Recently published Data With regard to the pollution from the Delhi pollution control committee (DPCC), the biological oxygen requirement (BSB) in the Yamuna reveals the alarming amount of 127 mg/l on the Najafgarh drain, more than 40 -times the acceptable limit of 3 mg/l, which was defined by the Central Controlution Control board (CPCB). The dissolved oxygen (do), which is necessary for water life, cannot be found in the spots anywhere, and the river cannot even house the most rudimentary water conditions.
Photo by Ahmed Karim
Thick white foam made of untreated wastewater, industrial waste water and phosphates in detergents usually extends over Kalindi Kunj and is a dark visual symbol for the dirt of the capital. However, this foam consists more than just optics, but of toxins and pathogens that pose a threat to public health.
For thousands of residents in Delhi who live next to Yamuna, the deterioration of the water is a daily crisis. In Okla Vihar, 42-year-old Ramsha Begum says, a local street seller, “we cannot afford water cleaners, and my children suffer from an irritated intestinal syndrome due to impure water. The water looks mud and yellow, but we have no other alternative than consuming. ‘
An ecological and health crisis
Almost 70% The raw water consumed by Delhi comes from the Yamuna river. However, the Level of faeces Coliformswhich indicates the presence of human waste was measured in parts of the river with over 1.5 million MPN/100 ml, far beyond the permissible limit of 500 MPN/100 ml.
Doctors warn This contact with contaminated river water through the skin can lead to breaks of diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A and E and leptospirosis.
Doctors warn This contact with contaminated river water through the skin can lead to breaks of diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis A and E and leptospirosis. The contact or inhaling of foam leads to breathing appeals, allergies and eye infections.
For residents who live on the banks and use the Yamuna for daily activities such as washing and regular bathing, it is a daily and dangerous compromise.
Photo by Ahmed Karim
“I would also recommend that precautionary measures to be made in the form of vaccinations against hepatitis A and typhoid, especially for those who are continuously contaminated,” said Dr. Imran Ansari, a doctor by profession.
Systemic pollution and infrastructure gaps
Delhi has 37 StPs (wastewater treatment plants), But less than two thirds They run their full capacity. It was found that 16 StPs were not liable to the necessary discharge standards in 2025. Many more have weak disinfection systems, and therefore with 18 large drains, some of which are treated or untreated wastewater in the river, are the Najafgarh and the Shahdara outflow, which is most famous, which is over 80% of the contamination of the contamination of dirt, that of the MagnsaySay winner and the spectator -ajenda award and that with the Magsays Prize recorded, and the Drajonsaysay winners and the spectator dray dracks. “Don’t say that Yamuna has water – it only has acid,” he said.
‘The river now has heavy metals such as chrome, rising nitrate values and extremely high acid. Due to climate change and extreme temperatures, these chemicals react and create a white foam that is very harmful – it is sour and corrosive, ”he added.
Approx. 700 million gallons per day (MGD) of untreated wastewater is estimated to flow into the river.
Approx. 700 million gallons per day (MGD) of untreated wastewater is estimated to flow into the river. In addition, there is crumbling infrastructure, non -authorized industrial connections and a sewage system that still excludes a large part of the poor settlements.
Board and accountability in relation to the pollution of Yamuna
Together with the 2025-26 budget, the government of Delhi put aside £ 500 crore to rejuvenate the Yamuna alone. This includes the installation of 40 decentralized mini-StPS, the repair of corroded pipes and the connection of over 2.5 Lakh houses and slums to the city’s sewer network. In addition, 32 monitoring stations of water quality are installed for real -time monitoring, so that environmental pollution can be recognized and measures can be taken earlier.
Photo by Ahmed Karim
In the overall level, the Jal Shakti Ministry has created a graded “Yamuna action plan” with interceptors as one of the goals, removal of fixed waste, development of the river bank and ecological rejuvenation. The goal is to improve water quality in 2027, but its implementation period is not defined, and previous iterations of the same programs have not delivered permanent results.
The political leadership continues to run the money. The early 2025-elected new government was under the growing criticism because it was not perceived as nothing. Although it represents a common approach with the central governments through a new “Yamuna master plan”, critics say that his soil interventions remain only a few and in between. Public patience is worn out when the promises accumulate, but progress is difficult to measure.
While BJP spokesman refused to comment on repeated questions, AAP spokesman Sanjay said when AAP was in power, the Yamuna was not in this terrible form. BJP won through Hyping promise in the revival of Yamuna. But what did you do? Nothing. Were 100 days not enough to start serious work? ‘
The 2024 Data It estimated that more than 20,000 families in Delhi, in non -authorized colonies, are still dependent on untreated river water for washing, swimming, bathing, or even modest cooking requirements from the central pollution control authority. Without an alternative infrastructure, their residents only have limited options and have long -term effects on public health and social stability.
Delhi’s water crisis is a microcosm of greater challenges that Indian cities deal with urbanization, inadequate planning and tense resources. The condition of the Yamuna corresponds to that of other urban rivers such as the Hindon in Uttar Pradesh and the Musi in Telangana, once the lifelines on drainage for industrial and domestic waste.
Experts warn that if Delhi, with all his media attention, resources and political focus, cannot revive his river, the chances of smaller or lesser -known waters are bleak. The inability to revive Yamuna reflects the more comprehensive separation between environmental loss and institutional capacity in India.
The inability to revive Yamuna reflects the more comprehensive separation between environmental loss and institutional capacity in India.
Micro interventions such as adaptation floors in drainage outputs, audits from StPs from third-party providers and stricter compliance with the pollution standards are required. Citizens also have to adapt to the feeling of reporting abuses and interventions.
Photo by Ahmed Karim
Although important, ecological flow is often ignored. Specialists recommend Rainfire in zones upstream to deliver at least 1,000 Cusecs fresh water daily, especially between the summer months, to dilute toxins and get natural cleaning cycles.
In addition, public campaigns for sensitization must be intensified, especially in areas with river ditches, to recognize risks and spread protection information. Organizations and NGOs of civil society can be crucial to translate politics into basic measures.
On this global environmental day, the dark state of Yamuna invites both the lawsuit and self -observation. It is more of a social, political and moral than just an environmental failure. From its sacred, lifelong status as a watercourse, the Yamuna has sunk to the level of an open sewer, which is clogged with neglect, complacency and not to be checked.
The revision of the Yamuna is not possible on the basis of the budgets. Committed measures, coordination between and agency and civic responsibility will request. For a city that is proud of the development, the final examination of its growth may be that of the river.
Until then, the Yamuna still flows off, foams and forgotten.
