1. By Nitish, Piyush,
Nipun,Shourya,Siddhant,
Nimit
Students of LNMIIT JAipur
-River or Drain?

2. • Visit the Pollution Control Office of Delhi and collect data
pertaining to pollution in Yamuna.
• Suggest ways to minimize the pollution from the major
sources.
• Make an action plan
• Start an awareness campaign through a poster competition.

3. FACTS & FIGURES
Source : Yamunotri
Length : 1,370 km
Coverage : Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi
Chambal, Betwa, Sind &
Tributaries :
Ken

4. • It is said that, Yamuna is the consort of Lord Shri Krishna.
• Yamuna descended down the hills and reached the
plains at Khandav Vana which has been developed as
Delhi city now.
• Yamuna and Yama are believed to be the offspring of
Sun God 'Surya'. Hence it is considered that whoever
takes a dip in the holy waters of the source stream of
Yamuna may not have fear of death.

5. Yamuna in Earlier days

6. • The main stream of the river Yamuna originated from
the Yamunotri glacier near Bandar Punch in the Mussorie
range of lower Himalayas in the district of Uttar Kashi in
Uttar Pradesh.
• Some say the source of the river is the Saptarishi Kund,
a glacial lake.

7. • The Yamuna river passing through 22 km in Delhi was once
described as the lifeline of the city, but today it has become one
of the dirtiest rivers in the country.
• Delhi generates about 3,267 million litres per day (mld) of
sewage while the city's installed waste water treatment
capacity is only 2,330 mld. More than 937 mld of waste is not
treated. Out of Delhi's 2,330 mld treatment capacity, 37
per cent is under-utilised and 1,270 mld of sewage is untreated
and allowed to enter the river everyday.
• The Yamuna’s 22-km stretch in Delhi is barely 2 per cent of the
length of the river, but contributes over 70 per cent of the
pollution load.

8. • Pollution levels in the Yamuna have risen. Biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD) load has increased by 2.5 times
between 1980 and 2005 - from 117 tonnes per day (TPD)
in 1980 to 276 TPD in 2005.
•
Delhi discharges about 3,684 MLD (million litres per day)
of sewage into the Yamuna.
•
The faecal coliform count, which indicates the presence
of disease causing micro- organisms, is nearly 25,000
times more than the limit prescribed for bathing.
•
Delhi and Agra together account for 90 per cent of the
pollution in the river.

9. • The Capital has 16 drains discharging treated and
untreated wastewater/sewage into Yamuna.
• The Najafgarh drain contributes to 60% of the total
wastewater and 45 per cent of the total BOD load being
discharged from Delhi into the Yamuna. The municipal
wastewater has increased from 960 MLD in 1977 to
1,900 MLD in 1997.
• The capacity for treatment -increased from 450 MLD in
1977 to 1,270 MLD in 1997.

10. • All existing Industries, dumping the waste water in
Yamuna, should setup a waste water management plant
at their source, and new industries should be given
license only if they have a waste management plant

11. • Extensive plantation on banks of Yamuna
• Sewerage should flow in the river only after treatment

12. • Electric Crematoriums should be built and
their usage encouraged
• Community Toilets and low cost sanitation to
be built and usage encouraged

13. • Religious activities:
• Idols made of POP should be banned and mud idols should be
used for immersion.
• Use of soap and detergents during ritual baths should be banned

14. • Plan to mobilise people so that they follow the
Action plan and be vigilant enough to deter
others from violating the plan.
• Sharing of awareness posters with the community
• Making Eco clubs in the localities and these clubs will
take up the responsibility to clean the banks regularly
and mobilise support.

15. • Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh recently said
that Yamuna is not a river in Delhi. It is nothing better
than a nullah.
So, whatever happened to the Rs 1,800
crore granted by the government of Delhi
that was supposed to be spent on cleaning
the river?

16. • Yamuna is dead in a city that expresses no gratitude
towards the river that meets more than 70 per cent of its
water demand (before it turns into a virtual drain at
Wazirabad in west Delhi.
• If towns (like Agra) downstream do what Delhi is so
ruthlessly doing to the river, then even this 'river-nullah'
might turn into a multitude of open sewers and drains.

18. Shocked activist Ginny Harris of the
Alice Ferguson Foundation which is
involved in the Potomac river cleaning in
Washington DC, exclaimed: "My god,
you call this a river!" while interacting
with local activists.

19. The river is filled with garbage floating on the surface. This includes everything
from plants to human waste.
.

20. • River Thames in London was so polluted and stinking in
the year 1850 that the British Parliament had to be
shifted away from the river, says Robert Oates, director
of the Thames River Restoration Trust.
• A century and half on, the river is much cleaner and
Britain, he says, is now investing in cleaning a tributary of
the Thames, the Lee, ahead of the London Olympics in
2012.

21. Yamuna - Today

31. Earlier Now
Yamuna was clean, Yamuna is dirty, polluted
serene and green and stinky
People love to visit for Industries are throwing
boating & picnic industries waste
People used to compose Yamuna banks is used
poems on the beauty of as garbage dumping
Yamuna ground
People used to take holy Now animals are getting
dip in the sacred river bathed, Dead bodies are
cremated in Yamuna

32. Most probable number (MPN): per 100 ml of sample1

33. Poster Making & Public awareness

34. • Wikipedia
• www.knowyourrivers.com
• Locals and elders
• Old newspapers and magazines
• Pollution Control Office of Delhi

35. • Piyush Kumar Tiwari – Y10UC217: Research and
content.
• Nipun Ashwini Iyer – Y10UC200: Extraction and
compilation of data and
Powerpoint.
• Shourya Ranka – Y10UC311:Photography and
Powerpoint.
• Nitish Bansal – Y10UC204: Photography.
• Nimit Malhotra – Y10UC199: Presentation.
• Siddhant Sardana – Y10UC322: Photography and
Facilitator.