This archive report was first published on 12 November 2021.
Delhi's Yamuna River, a lifeline for the city's drinking water, has become a toxic dumping ground for millions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste. The river forms the boundary between Delhi and the state of Uttar Pradesh, a circumstance that has complicated the already tortured process of cleaning it up.
According to government figures, less than half of the roughly 16 billion gallons of daily sewage in India's urban centers is treated, with much of the rest polluting the country's rivers. New Delhi, overwhelmed by a growing population, treats about two-thirds of its sewage, but hundreds of millions of gallons are still dumped into the Yamuna untreated.
Residents like Sonu Prasad, a 36-year-old button seller, are aware of the pollution's source: 'When I shower, it goes into a small canal, then a big canal, then it goes into the river,' he said. His brother-in-law, Ravi Shankar Gupta, echoed his sentiments, saying, 'It's a sewer, but the sun deity says: 'Even if you stand in a gutter and make an offering, I will protect you for the rest of the year.' '
Despite the efforts to clean up the river, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in recent decades, to little effect. The infighting over the pollution between the states that the river flows through has further complicated the issue. As Mr. Gupta pointed out, 'We will still live, and enjoy life,' but the struggle to shine through the pollution remains.
