Sep 01, 2009
Providing water to its 15 million inhabitants, the Yamuna is Delhi’s lifeline. This monsoon river flows past through the Union Territory for about about 50km. About half the flow is up to the Wazirabad barrage, and the rest is between Wazirabad and Okhla. Till the barrage, the river is all right. And the waterworks there still draw upon it to supply water for drinking and similar purposes.
The story changes downstream. South of Wazirabad up to Okhla, over around 22km, the river is totally polluted, full of garbage, and incapable of sustaining any aquatic life. The challenge today is to clean the river water, beautify its flood plains and recharge its underground reservoir.
Insofar as Yamuna’s flood plains are a repository of underground water, they are worth their weight in gold, as water is already the most precious commodity for Delhi and will determine its survival as a city. It is our duty to preserve the flood plains and maintain their underwater reservoirs. We also need to collect and save monsoon waters in the river, for year-round use in the city. Thus, the construction of the Games Village here is unfortunate. It’s the DDA and the Delhi government that we can blame for this. Given how pucca construction impacts the availability of underground water in the capital, we must discourage it in the future. But this does not mean that the flood plains cannot be used for other purposes. Yamuna’s total river bed here is about 100sq km (about 7% of the total area of Delhi). Even a partial development of the river front can provide 7,000 acres of new recreational space for Delhi’s citizens. This area can also have 3,00,000 full size trees, providing a city lung in addition to the ridge.
Keeping the river water clean is a big challenge as all of Delhi’s sewage is discharged into it—via about ten drains, of which the Najafgarh one is the biggest. Big plans and big money have gone into STPs (sewage treatment plants) and ETPs (effluent treatment plants), but things haven’t really worked out. Instead of building small STPs and ETPs at various locations around the city, it would perhaps have been better to focus on one or two large plants near the river, where all the sullage collected can be treated together and then put into the river. Yamuna Action Plans I and II have already consumed over a thousand crore of rupees without much impact. Perhaps, time is ripe for yet another inquiry!
The river basin between Wazirabad and Okhla has become shallow, full of garbage and plastic. There is an urgent need to dredge it. Once this is done, the river basin will be able to absorb more water. Since the river downstream of Wazirabad is already as good as channelised due to 11 bridges, we need to build up the embankment on this 22-km stretch and provide open, green spaces like football and cricket fields, river front restaurants and so on.
North of the Wazirabad barrage, the existing reservoir could be expanded by dredging, albeit within the flood plains. If this problem is resolved, Delhi’s water woes will be quite reduced. Dependence on neighbouring states will really go down too. Another upside of dredging is that we will be able to better capture the monsoon flows in a reservoir that not only provides water for drinking but also recharges the underground capacity of the flood plains and beyond. If on the other hand we take no action at all, the river will remain a sewage cesspool and a health hazard.
—The author is former chairman and managing director of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Corporation
Providing water to its 15 million inhabitants, the Yamuna is Delhi’s lifeline. This monsoon river flows past through the Union Territory for about about 50km. About half the flow is up to the Wazirabad barrage, and the rest is between Wazirabad and Okhla. Till the barrage, the river is all right. And the waterworks there still draw upon it to supply water for drinking and similar purposes.
The story changes downstream. South of Wazirabad up to Okhla, over around 22km, the river is totally polluted, full of garbage, and incapable of sustaining any aquatic life. The challenge today is to clean the river water, beautify its flood plains and recharge its underground reservoir.
Insofar as Yamuna’s flood plains are a repository of underground water, they are worth their weight in gold, as water is already the most precious commodity for Delhi and will determine its survival as a city. It is our duty to preserve the flood plains and maintain their underwater reservoirs. We also need to collect and save monsoon waters in the river, for year-round use in the city. Thus, the construction of the Games Village here is unfortunate. It’s the DDA and the Delhi government that we can blame for this. Given how pucca construction impacts the availability of underground water in the capital, we must discourage it in the future. But this does not mean that the flood plains cannot be used for other purposes. Yamuna’s total river bed here is about 100sq km (about 7% of the total area of Delhi). Even a partial development of the river front can provide 7,000 acres of new recreational space for Delhi’s citizens. This area can also have 3,00,000 full size trees, providing a city lung in addition to the ridge.
Keeping the river water clean is a big challenge as all of Delhi’s sewage is discharged into it—via about ten drains, of which the Najafgarh one is the biggest. Big plans and big money have gone into STPs (sewage treatment plants) and ETPs (effluent treatment plants), but things haven’t really worked out. Instead of building small STPs and ETPs at various locations around the city, it would perhaps have been better to focus on one or two large plants near the river, where all the sullage collected can be treated together and then put into the river. Yamuna Action Plans I and II have already consumed over a thousand crore of rupees without much impact. Perhaps, time is ripe for yet another inquiry!
The river basin between Wazirabad and Okhla has become shallow, full of garbage and plastic. There is an urgent need to dredge it. Once this is done, the river basin will be able to absorb more water. Since the river downstream of Wazirabad is already as good as channelised due to 11 bridges, we need to build up the embankment on this 22-km stretch and provide open, green spaces like football and cricket fields, river front restaurants and so on.
North of the Wazirabad barrage, the existing reservoir could be expanded by dredging, albeit within the flood plains. If this problem is resolved, Delhi’s water woes will be quite reduced. Dependence on neighbouring states will really go down too. Another upside of dredging is that we will be able to better capture the monsoon flows in a reservoir that not only provides water for drinking but also recharges the underground capacity of the flood plains and beyond. If on the other hand we take no action at all, the river will remain a sewage cesspool and a health hazard.
—The author is former chairman and managing director of Delhi Tourism and Transportation Corporation
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