Hardik Memes

Yamuna: A Mythology or A Victim?

The goddess of the river, also known as Yami, is the sister of Yama, the god of death and the daughter of Surya, the Sun god, and his wife Saranyu. Yamuna, referred to respectfully as Yamunaji, holds a very important position in Pushti Marga, a large sect of Hinduism based on the Shuddh Advaita, in which Shri Krishna is the main deity, propagated by Vallabh Acharya / Maha Prabhuji.

The river Yamuna is connected to the religious beliefs surrounding Krishna and various stories of the two are found in Hindu reloigious text, especially the Puranas. One such story is Kaliya Daman about the subduing of Kaliya, a Naga which had inhabited the river and terrorised the people of Braja. Yamuna, according to the legends, is closely related to Lord Krishna and Mahabharata. Krishna was taken across the Yamuna on the night of his birth. Krishna's maternal uncle Kansa had planned to kill all his nephews, as his eighth nephew was predicted to be his Kala. When Vasudeva, carrying Krishna in a basket, reached the river Yamuna, on the stormy night of Krishna's birth, Yamuna is said to have parted to make way for Vasudeva. Krishna and the Gopis also used to play on the banks of the Yamunaji as children.

But in real, 2% of Yamuna accounts for 76% of pollution. A small stretch that covers less than two per cent of the Yamuna accounts for 76% of the river's pollution, according to a monitoring committee over seeing its cleaning.

The committee added that "the river is fighting to stay alive" and it would not be possible to rejuvenate the Yamuna unless minimum environmental flow is provided as it is "virtually" reduced to a trickle and remains dry in some stretches for almost 9 months of the year". 

National Green Tribunal chairperson A K Goel had in July form the monitoring committee comprising retired expert member B S Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretory Shailaja Chandra and directed them to the submit an action plan and detained report on cleaning of the river by December 31. The committee has submitted the details to the Delhi government.

In the action plan, it is mention that "although the Yamuna river flow only for 54 km  from Palla to Badarpur through Delhi, the 22 Km stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla, which is less than 2 per cent of the river legnth of 1,370 Km from Yamunotri to Allabahad, accounts for about 76 % of the pollution level in the river". This 2 per cent stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla sees maximum discharge of untreated industrial and domestic wastes.

The committee ha suggested that a team of scientists be formed from CPCB, DPCC and other institution like IIT - Delhi or NEERI to carry out instruction and submit reports to it for remedical action.

The committee has also recommended a mechanism to be worked out jointly with DPCC and CPCB to install an online system for quality testing of water in Ymuna at Palla and Wazirabad. 

The monitoring committee also raised objection to the capacity utilisation  of common effluent treatment plant (CETP) which is as low as 25%. 

There are 28 industrial clusters in Delhi and 17 of these are connected to 13 CETPs. The remaining 11 clusters re not connected to any CETP.

Another area of concern is the direct discharge of completely unregulated waste from industries and residencies into the river.

Environmental experts have raised concern over the report of the committee, calling it a matter of great shame and regret for Delhities.