| About TBS |
| Programmes |
| Yamuna campaign |
| TBS In Media |
| Photo Gallery |
| Reports and documents |
| Tarun Jal Vidyapeeth |
| Publications |
| Contact |
Campaign to clean River Yamuna
The Jal Biradari, a national network of civil society organizations and individuals, is launching a campaign this year that will draw attention to cleaning up the River Yamuna. This is significant because 2007 is the 150th year of the First War of Independence and a time when it important to underline our responsibilities as citizens of independent India.
The campaign will begin with a study of causes of pollution of the river and the role it plays in life of the people of Delhi. It will diversify into raising awareness, based on its understanding, among citizens of how to contribute to reducing pollution in the river. The campaign will also propagate rainwater harvesting on rooftops, lawns, parks and roads through people-oriented decentralized water harvesting.
Several city-based NGOs, students and experts will take part in the campaign. The purpose is to focus attention on problems of India’s capital city and create a ripple effect through the country about the need to improve the condition of rivers, lakes, streams and other water bodies.
The river’s flood plain is being converted to uses like power plants, metro stations, the Akshardham temple and the Commonwealth Games Village in the name development. This will impact the water security of the city in the long-term and change the character of the river. The campaign will draw attention to these plans and their impact on the city’s long-term ecology. The developments on the river bed will be at risk of floods as well.
Buildings on the flood plain will also aggravate the water scarcity in the city. Groundwater levels that have been falling by 1-2 metres every year in many parts of Delhi will decline more rapidly once the area of the flood plain is reduced by the planned developments. The river is already hemmed in by bunds that have restricted the flood plain – many lakes and ponds in east Delhi that were filled by the river’s flood waters have dried up when they were cut off from the river by these bunds and housing or commercial complexes.
The last Yamuna Action Plan achieved very little by way of stopping pollution in the river despite an expenditure of around Rs 1,000 crore. Despite this, the Delhi Jal Board and other agencies are scheming to spend another Rs 2,000 crore on the second YAP. The campaign will aim for people’s involvement to stop the pollution of the river and encroachment of the river’s flood plains as the government has not proved equal to the task.
It will demand that the government include people in decision-making especially in managing water resources. It will call for a national river revival movement and water education movement to safeguard rivers and water as an ecosystem.
