Seventeen-year-old Komal who has been living in a JJ colony in Majnu Ka Tila for five years now says, “Yamuna toh hain na [to dump the garbage] ,aur kya chahiye ? [We have the Yamuna to dump garbage, what else do we need?]”
Washing clothes in the river, 29-year-old Rajkumari, a resident of a Majnu Ka Tila colony, appears surprised when asked where solid waste from the household is dumped. “We either throw it in the river or burn the garbage. What else do you expect me to do? The water supply we get is, at times, insufficient for the entire family. So we wash clothes in the Yamuna too. Where else do you want me to wash the clothes?” she asks indignantly.
Sewage treatment plants
In an effort to clean the Yamuna, the Central and State governments are looking to set up more sewage treatment plants and putting in place a mechanism for closer monitoring of the debris and muck being dumped on the floodplains. However, it is the lack of proper tapping of the sewage being discharged into the river that contributes most to pollution in the Yamuna, according to a draft report by a team from the Delhi Technological University (DTU).
The draft report, a copy of which is with The Hindu , was recently submitted to a monitoring committee that was constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last July. The committee is headed by former Delhi Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra and former NGT expert member Bikram S. Sajwan.
As per the draft report, about 3,911 million litres per day (MLD) of treated and untreated waste water is discharged by 22 drains that outfall in the Delhi section of the river. Direct discharge of “vast quantities” of sewage into the river has made the Delhi section of the Yamuna “the most polluted section”, stated the draft report.
The draft report lays out various recommendations for the multiple drains, inspected by the DTU team, including proper operation and maintenance of existing sewers, trapping of sewage and interception of sewage before outfall into the river apart from providing proper sewage system in unauthorised colonies. The monitoring committee too, in its action plan, expressed concerns over the lack of sewer lines in the over 1,500 unauthorised colonies in the Capital.
The draft report also mentions solid waste accumulation, leakage of freshwater and lack of an outfall sewer line to cater to sewage of Civil Lines — Shamnath Marg, Raj Niwas and the surrounding areas.
Solid waste generated from the unauthorised colonies is dumped into the river, further deteriorating the river’s health, said an official associated with the project.
| Drain | Approximate discharge (million litres per day) | Recommendation |
| Barapullah | 114 MLD | Trap sewage in sewer lines at source to reduce its flow into the drain |
| Delhi Gate | 56-64 MLD | Properly clean the drain; ensure maintenance of existing treatment systems |
| Mori Gate | 9-10 MLD | Set up provision for root-zone treatment for wastewater before outfall |
| Taimoor Nagar | 23 MLD | Build sewage network for Taimoor Nagar colony |
No garbage trucks
“We either throw trash along the boundary next to the main road or the river itself. It is mostly the river only. There are no garbage trucks or anything that come. While we do get water supply, the pressure is so low at times it takes two-three hours to fill one bucket! Naturally, we wash clothes in the river itself,” adds Komal.
“There are no trucks that come to collect the garbage. So we dump it across the boundary only. We have no other option but to throw it in the open next to the river. Thanks to the wind, the garbage finds its way back into our homes regularly. We have no option but to live amidst this dirt. What can we do?” questioned Geeta Devi, a 35-year-old homemaker and resident of a JJ colony in Wazirabad.
Kismati, a 55-year-old who has been living in the area for over 40 years, added, “The authorities should either give us a designated place to dump the garbage or fence the area to stop garbage from entering our homes. Unfortunately, we are forced to live under such circumstances.”
