No Dirty Water Will Flow into Yamuna by December-end, Says National Mission for Clean Ganga Official

No dirty water will be flowing into the Yamuna by December-end as all drains carrying sewage into the river will be tapped, a senior official said. The over 1,300-km-long Yamuna is among the most polluted rivers in the country and also provides water to more than half of the national capital. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Director General G Asok Kumar said there are 18 drains that deliver dirty water into the Yamuna, and plans are afoot to tap these drains and divert the dirty water to sewage treatment plants (STPs).

“Now that the sewage treatment plants are in place, we can divert the dirty water flowing into the river to these plants. The treated water which we get from the STPs can then be added to the river so that the flow of the river is also improved. So by December, no dirty water will be coming into the Yamuna river and its flow will also see improvement,” he told PTI. “We will try to ensure that there is bathing quality water in the Yamuna by then,” he added.

Kumar said once dirty water stops flowing into the river, the next step will be to set a minimum flow of water in the Yamuna to have uninterrupted flow, which will ensure its cleanliness. Just 2 per cent or 22 km of Yamuna falls in Delhi, but 98 per cent of pollution in the Yamuna comes from the national capital due to untreated or semi-treated industrial effluents or sewage that is being discharged into the river in the 22 km stretch.

According to estimates made by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi generates 3,800 million litres of sewage per day. The official said NMCG is also looking into nonpoint sources of pollution in the Yamuna. “We are also trying to find out about the nonpoint sources like the ones which also cause froth in the river. We are also trying to look at the dhobi ghats through which a lot of soap is coming into the water. We are trying to address those nonpoint sources too and see they do not add pollution to the river,” he said.

Kumar added that the NMCG is starting NGYodha (Namami Gange Yamuna of Delhi area) that will focus on cleaning the Yamuna.

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