दिल्ली विधानसभा चुनाव प्रचार के दौरान यमुना नदी प्रदूषण एक महत्वपूर्ण राजनितिक मुद्दा बना। चुनाव जीतने के बाद स्वयं प्रधानमंत्री और भाजपा पार्टी के वरिष्ठ नेताओं ने ‘आप’ सरकार की हार के लिए यमुना की दुर्दशा को एक प्रमुख कारण बताया। साथ में यमुना को साफ करने की बात कही। ऐसे में क्या दिल्ली के नागरिक एक स्वच्छ बहती नदी की उम्मीद रख सकते हैं?
Continue reading “दिल्ली में नई सरकार: क्या अब निर्मल होगी यमुना?”Category: Yamuna River
Yamuna Manthan 050225: River Needs Attention beyond Politics & Elections
(Feature Image: Yamuna river downstream Okhla barrage in Delhi on Jan 29, 2025. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
Political blame games surrounding the Delhi assembly election have brought Yamuna in focus for about past one month. Disappointingly, the central and all state govts in basin are responsible for continual degradation of river and none of the parties have offered practical solutions to improve the condition of the river in the national capital.
It’s a fact that the pollution from Haryana drains, namely Dhanaura Escape in Karnal, Drain No 2 in Panipat and Drain No. 6 and 8 in Sonipat have been bringing untreated effluents in increasing amounts in the river upstream of Delhi, ultimately severely crippling the Wazirabad barrage based potable water supply in the city. In addition to diversion of river waters for industrial, irrigational and potable demands from Hathni Kund Barrage, increasing unsustainable mechanized mining for about past eight years have been ruining lean season flows in the river in upper segment. The concerned central govt departments and Haryana government are required to address these issues effectively as part of a solution to improve the health of river in Delhi.
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Yamuna Manthan 020125: River Dying by Design or Default?
(Feature Image: Instream mechanized mining going on in Yamuna river at Gumthala Rao near Karnal-Yamuna Nagar border in Haryana in Oct. 2024. Source: Yamauna Nadi Mitra Mandli)
This twelfth edition of monthly Yamuna updates and the first one of the new year 2025, rounds up the critical issues impacting the river eco-system during the past year. The updates of the past one month only hint towards the bleak future the river is heading to. Without addressing the adverse effects and exploring cost effective alternatives, foundation stones of two massive river interlinking projects namely Ken-Betwa and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal have been laid. The work of unjustifiable Renuka and Lakhwar dams in climatically sensitive and geologically fragile region of Himalaya is going on.
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Yamuna Manthan 051224: Native River Fish Species Facing Extinction
(Feature Image: A fish catch comprised mostly of invasive Tilapia species downstream Wazairabad barrage in Delhi in June 2023. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)
A recent CIFRI (Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute) report submitted to NGT is an eye-opening official document about the fish diversity in Yamuna. The report says that overall native fish species have declined sharply in the river not only in number but in size also due to habitat degradation, pollution and increasing presence of invasive fish species.
The report admits that construction of Farakka barrage has led to complete elimination of Hilsa fish in lower segment of river since 2010. Among other recommendations the report has suggested maintenance of continuous flows in the river and addressing sources of pollution.
Indeed, the freshwater fish species are key indicator of health of a river eco-system and the fish diversity in Yamuna has been pushed to brink by the water abstraction, unsustainable riverbed mining activities and ever-increasing pollution of river waters besides other factors.
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Yamuna Manthan 061124: Save River from ‘Illegal’ Sand Mining
(Feature: Members of Haryana Anti Corruption Society, Yamuna Nadi Mitra Mandli, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Yamuna Nagar raising concerns over unabated unsustainable riverbed mining in Yamuna in Gumthala Rao, Karnal on Oct 07, 2024.)
Large scale riverbed mining has become most underestimated and least discussed threat for Yamuna rivers. While increasing pollution has turned the river stretch between Delhi and Agra ecologically dead, the rampant sand mining has been severely damaging the Yamuna eco-system in upper and lower segments.
Presently, the mining menace is quite rampant in Paonta Sahib, Yamuna Nagar, Saharanpur, Karnal, Shamili, Panipat, Sonipat, Baghpat and Ghaziabad districts along the river in upper segment. Similarly, in lower segment the main stem of river as well as its key tributaries Chambal, Sind, Betwa, Ken have been bearing the burnt of unsustainable sand mining.
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यमुना में पर्यावरणीय प्रवाह बढ़ाने के हों ठोस प्रयास
(Feature Image: Bone dry Yamuna riverbed at Mawi, Kairnana. (Image Bhim Singh Rawat, June 2010)
सर्दी शुरू होते ही दिल्ली में यमुना नदी में झाग की समस्या चरम पर पहुँच जाती है। इसी के साथ कई दिनों तक ओखला बैराज के नीचे नदी सतह पर तैरते ‘आइस बर्ग’ की भांति दिखने वाले झाग के बड़े-बड़े खंड लोगों के आकर्षण और मीडिया की सुर्ख़ियों का केंद्र बन जाते हैं। बढ़ते नदी प्रदुषण पर नागरिकों की बढ़ती चिंताओं और नदी प्रेमियों के बढ़ते सवालों के बीच राजनितिक दोषारोपण का दौर शुरू होता है। समस्या का फौरी निराकरण करते दिखने के प्रयास में संबंधित सरकारी विभाग आनन-फानन में कुछ आधे-अधूरे कदम उठाते हैं। त्यौहार और खास तौर पर छठ पर्व समाप्त होते ही, लोगों की नदी पर जाने वाले भीड़ कम हो जाती है और दो-तीन सप्ताह बाद सब यमुना नदी में बढ़ते प्रदुषण और झाग की समस्या को भूल जाते हैं। लगभग एक साल बाद फिर से यह क्रम दोहराया जाता है जब सर्दी के समय झाग के आगोश में लिपटी प्रदूषित यमुना, नागरिकों की उदासीनता और नदी सफाई योजनाओं की नाकामी को उजागर करती है।
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Yamuna Manthan 031024: Threatened River Wetlands
(Feature Image: Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, along with the river Yamuna, is considered to be green lung of the Agra city. Source: ToI report Six-member committee to probe development of Agra Trade Centre in Soor Sarovar eco-zone. Nov. 01, 2018)
The waterbodies, lakes, wetlands in Yamuna basin continue to face damages and threats from many quarters, including concerned govt departments. In latest examples of this, there are reports of Uttar Pradesh govt’s plan to reduce the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Keetham lake to zero. The wetlands also known as Sur Sarovar is a large ox bow lake formed by Yamuna River in Agra. It is a protected bird sanctuary and has been designated a Ramsar site in August 2020. In Sept. 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the govt to increase lake’s ESZ to 799 ha from 403 ha.
Similarly, the Uttar Pradesh govt departments have also been delaying process to notify Dhanauri wetlands as a Ramsar site in Greater Noida. The case is going on in NGT (National Green Tribunal) for the past many years. In the recent hearing held on Sept. 26, the NGT asked govt department to explain reasons behind delay in notifying the wetlands apart from directing it to remove water hyacinth chocking the wetlands. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 27, 2025.
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Yamuna SW Monsoon 2024: Upper Segment Misses Flood
(Feature Image: Yamuna river at Mawi site in Kairana, UP in Sept. 2024)
After remarkable deluge in 2023, the upper segment of Yamuna river has seen no significant flood spell all through the just concluded southwest monsoon 2024. This is unusual as the river generally witnesses at least a couple of low or medium flood spells in this segment every year.
However, this year the discharges from Hathnikund Barrage (HKB) in Haryana did not cross 1 lakh cusec figure even a single time. The peak discharge from the barrage was 87,017 cusecs at 06:00 hour on 26.09.2024.
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Yamuna Manthan 080824: Welcome Judicial Decisions for River Floodplain
(Feature Image: Yamuna floodplain downstream old railway bridge Delhi. March 2024, SANDRP)
In the past one month there have been some interesting judicial interventions taking up the matters of floodplain, pollution and aquatic eco-system of the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Of these, the most significant one is the NGT order on July 11 fining MoJS & CWC of ₹50 000 each for the non-demarcation of floodplain in Agra.
The fine was to be submitted before Aug. 06,2024 hearing but there is no update available so far on this. It is also not clear whether Yamuna floodplain has been demarcated and officially notified in Agra stretch or not. Earlier in May 2019 and March 2022, the NGT had asked for demarcation of Yamuna floodplain in Agra and Mathura respectively.
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Yamuna Manthan 040724: A year after historic floods, where is River Governance?
(Feature Image: A view of overflowing Yamuna river at Wazirabad in New Delhi on 13 July. Image Credit: HT PRINT/Live Mint)
It has been a year since Delhi witnessed one of the worst flood spells in Yamuna after four and half decade. The unusual deluge in river on July13, 2023 breached the highest flood level (HFL) 207.49 meter at Old Delhi Railway Station (DRS) attained on September 6,1978 by 1.17 m margin and set 208.66 m as new HFL.
Apart from severely impacting thousands of people in the city, the July 2023 Yamuna flood caught the concerned govt agencies responsible for flood mitigation by surprise and exposed the way city planners particularly DDA, NHAI have been dealing with river floodplains.
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SANDRP 