The Yamuna in Delhi

The Yamuna River, in northern India, forms one of the most important branches of the Ganges River. Yamuna is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Especially in New Delhi,the capital of India and the areas near it.

The Yamuna, which is sometimes called the Jumna River , rises in the Himalaya and flows southeastward for almost 900 miles (1,400 kilometers). It empties into the Ganges at the city of Allahabad. Two canals, one leading west and one leading east, irrigate about 12,000 square miles (31,100 square kilometers) of farmland in the river valley.

Though numerous attempts have been made to clean it, the efforts have proven to be futile. The main reasons for this is due to high density of population living in Delhi, the dumping of untreated water and solid waste into it (mostly illegally), the lax attitude of the government and mismanagement of projects focused at cleaning it. Also the water in this river remains stagnant for almost 9 months in a year aggravating the situation.

Water Quality
Water of the Yamuna river in the Capital is not fit for drinking even after treatment and disinfection, a classification report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said.
As per the CPCB’s best use classification, the quality of water in the river in the stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla was class E, which meant the water was only suitable for irrigation, industrial cooling and controlled waste disposal, the report said.
However, the quality of water as it entered the city at Palla till Wazirabad, from where industrial activity and dense settlements began, was classified C, indicating it was suitable for drinking after conventional treatment and disinfection.

Cleaning Efforts:
Delhi alone contributes around 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage in the river. The Govt. of India over the next five years has prepared plans to rebuild and repair the sewerage system and the drains that empty into the river. To arrest the river pollution, The Supreme Court of India has been forcing the cleaning of the river and consequently some measures have been taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of India (GOI) in 12 towns of Haryana, 8 towns of Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi under an action plan (Yamuna Action Plan-YAP I and II) which is being implemented since 1993 by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) participated in the Yamuna Action Plan Phase I in 15 of the above 21 towns (excluding 6 towns of Haryana included later on the direction of the honorable Supreme Court of India) with soft loan assistance of 17.773 billion Japanese Yen (equivalent to about Rs. 700 crore INR) while GOI provided the funds for the remaining 6 towns added later. The second phase of this program YAP II is now in progress from December 1, 2004 at a cost of Rs 624 crore, to augment sewage treatment capacity. However there is great skeptisicm about the utilsiation of the funds and the effectiveness of these measures.

Land use threats
Recently, owing to the Commonwealth games slated in 2010, there are new moves to ‘build’ on the river bed. These constructions include housing, stadiums, sports complexs, roads etc. Large scale demolitions have also taken place of people living on the river banks, and several thousand people have been dislocated. However the river bed is also the groundwater recharge zone of the city, and this activity of converting river bed land into commercial or institutional land is being opposed.

Economy:
The River bank is also a site for several types of livelihoods. Farmers cultivate vegetables, water melons, flowers, sugar cane and wheat here. Also sand from the bed is used for construction in the city, besides boatmen, fisherfolk, pujaris, water carriers also using the river for their livelihoods.

Topography:
Keeping in view the topography, Yamuna catchments upto Delhi is divided in two parts - (1) The upper catchment from source in Himalayas to Kalanaur in Haryana - which com[rises parts of Himachal Pradesh and hills of West Uttar Pradesh and (2) the lower catchment from Kalanaur to odl Delhi rail bridge which consists of West Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

River Yamuna enters Delhi from the northeast near Palla at an altitude of 210.3 meters and after traverse of about 40km. it leaves Delhi at an altitude of 198.12 m near Jaitpur in the Souht. The width of the riverbed varied from 1.5 to 2.0km. in its flow from Wazirabad barrage, a network of seventeen drains joins the river on the West bank during its traverse in the northern parts of the city. Najafgarh and Alipur drains, due to heavy discharge from Sahibi river, inundate a number of villages in Nazafargarh block causing heavy damage to life and property. There was, however, little effect of it in Yamuna river flow. Only one drain joins on the East bank near the old rail bridge.

The flow of Yamuna within Delhi is by and large influenced by discharge from Tajewala Headwork 240 kms upstream. In the event of heavy rain in the catchment area excess water is released from Tajewala. Depending upon the river flow level down stream, it takes about 48 hours for Yamuna level in Delhi to rise. The rise in water level also causes backflow effect on the city's drains. The city also experiences floods due to its network of 18 major drains having catchment areas extending beyond the city's limits.

Flood vulnerability
The city has been experiencing floods of various magnitudes in the past due to floods in the Yamuna and the Najafgarh Drain system. The Yamuna crossed its danger level (fixed at 204.83m) twenty five times during the last 33 years (table 3.1). Since 1900, Delhi has experienced six major floods in the years 1924, 1947, 1976, 1978, 1988 and 1995 when peak level of Yamuna river was one meter or more above danger level of 204.49m at old rail bridge (2.66m above the danger level) occurred on sixth September 1978. The second record peak of 206.92m was on twenty seventh September 1988.

In the recent part, the city experienced high magnitude floods in 1977, 1978, 1988 and 1995, causing misery and loss of life and property to the residents of the city. In Delhi Environment Status Report: WWF for Nature-India (1995), it has been pointed out that since 1978, the flood threat to Delhi has increased. In 1980, a discharge of 2.75 lakh causes at Tajewala resulted in flood level of 212.15 meters at the bund near Palla village in Delhi.

(references: Toxics Link information, New Delhi, , paper by Taranjot Kaur Gadhok, HSMI (HUSDCO), New Delhi, YAP webiste, Tribune news reports, TERI reports, CSE reports)