- Title: Yamuna pollution not just environmental but a public health crisis, says expert
- Date: 20th October 2024
- Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 19, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING TOXIC FROTH FLOATING ON YAMUNA RIVER'S SURFACE UNDER BRIDGE DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING TOXIC FROTH IN YAMUNA RIVER GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "The river Yamuna (is) actually having a lot of froth floating on its surface and it's not for the first time, we have actually seen it several times, in fact throughout the year there's froth in the river and it's an absolute travesty of environmental governance in Delhi. You know, there are many causes…and the causes of that pollution is actually known because there is (are) sources…there are industrial sewage that is actually dumped into the river without treatment, there is a lot of municipal waste almost 3,500 million litres of waste that is dumped into the river every day." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 19, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING MAN ROWING BOAT THROUGH TOXIC FROTH FLOATING OVER RIVER YAMUNA'S SURFACE GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "But primary responsibility of the Yamuna's pollution is Delhi's own pollution…the 17 drains that actually empty into Yamuna in Delhi is the main cause and the froth is only an indication of the kind of chemicals, the kind of froth, the kind of effluents that are actually dumped through municipal sources as well as through industrial sources." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 19, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING CLOUDS OF TOXIC FOAM FLOATING OVER RIVER YAMUNA'S SURFACE GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "The river only froths a lot on a few days but actually froths throughout…Yamuna's water is black throughout the year minus the months when it actually rains. So, you know, the pollution gets visible on some occasions like what's been happening for the last couple of days but the river is literally dead throughout the year." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) VARIOUS OF CLOUDS OF TOXIC FOAM IN RIVER YAMUNA MAN ROWING BOAT THROUGH TOXIC FROTH FROTH IN RIVER GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "Water quality of Yamuna is completely E-class and as per Central Pollution Control Board, the water quality is not even fit for animal bathing, it's only fit for industrial cooling. If you look at the froth, and there is also fumes…there is methane coming out of the river at various occasions…a completely dead river with no aquatic life, the coliform levels are actually high. There's hardly any dissolved oxygen in the river. All the parameters of a safe surface water for a river goes for a toss when it comes to river Yamuna. River Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers and it has been polluted and has stayed polluted for more than a decade and a half or two decades for that matter, and still we have not really seen any kind of political will or political urgency to solve this crisis." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) TOXIC FOAM FLOATING ON SURFACE OF RIVER YAMUNA FLOWING UNDER BRIDGE CATTLE SWIMMING IN TOXIC FOAM IN YAMUNA RIVER TOXIC FROTH FLOATING ON YAMUNA RIVER'S SURFACE MAN WASHING UTENSILS IN TOXIC RIVERWATER GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "It has a direct impact on people who actually go and bathe in the river…we have Chhath Puja (Hindu festival) coming and there'll be lakhs of people who'll be taking a holy dip in the river. Such toxic water when comes in contact with skin has harmful impact…of course there are skin disorders to breathing disorders to also cancer-related issues that perhaps can happen. So, it is not just an environmental concern, but it's also a public health concern that river Yamuna actually poses for citizens of Delhi." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) TOXIC FROTH FLOATING ON RIVER YAMUNA'S SURFACE RIVER YAMUNA FLOWING VARIOUS OF PRIESTS PERFORMING HINDU RITUALS ON BANKS OF RIVER YAMUNA CLOUDS OF TOXIC FOAM GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENVIRONMENTALIST AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT DELHI-BASED ENVIRONMENT ORGANISATION, SWECHHA INDIA, VIMLENDU JHA, SAYING: "Delhi Pollution Control Committee needs to be more active. It's understaffed. Delhi government has to be more proactive…as in they keep allocating resources but we don't really know where those resources are going. This is the primary responsibility of Delhi Jal Board (Delhi water department) both drinking water supply as well as the sewage management is the responsibility of Delhi Jal Board which comes directly under Delhi government and I think it's very important that they actually take concrete steps to curb it. We will have to have a short-term, medium-term, and long-term plan, we can't just say, we can't just always claim helplessness…because if you start moving, if you know that there are polluting industries, if you know that your sewage treatment plants and effluent treatment plants are not really efficient and effective, then you need to do something about it very, very soon." NEW DELHI, INDIA (OCTOBER 20, 2024) (ANI - No use India) (MUTE) DRONE FOOTAGE SHOWING MAN ROWING BOAT IN YAMUNA RIVER WITH TOXIC FROTH FLOATING ON ITS SURFACE
- Embargoed: 3rd November 2024 09:42
- Keywords: India Vimlendu Jha Yamuna river action chemicals drone environment environmentalist floating froth garbage government hazardous industrial waste poison pollution toxic foam waste water bodies
- Location: NEW DELHI/GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA
- City: NEW DELHI/GURUGRAM, HARYANA, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Pollution,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA001KX2174F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Indian environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said on Sunday (October 20) that the formation of toxic foam over New Delhi's heavily polluted Yamuna River should be declared a public health crisis.
The primary responsibility for the pollution in the sacred waterway is Delhi's own pollution, said Jha who is executive director at Delhi-based environment organisation Swechha India.
Drone footage showed Yamuna transformed into a shocking spectacle, with a thick, detergent-like foam covering its surface.
"Such toxic water when it comes in contact with the skin has harmful impact…of course, there are skin disorders to breathing disorders to also cancer-related issues that perhaps can happen", he added.
New Delhi alone produces 3.6 billion litres of sewage every day but due to poor management less than half is effectively treated. The remaining untreated waste is dumped into the Yamuna River. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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