As the Yamuna Crisis worsens in National Capital, Oneindia’s Pankaj Mishra Talks To Youth cleaning the river front amid the exacerbating crisis. Pollution in the river, common during festivals, contains high levels of ammonia and phosphates, posing risks like respiratory and skin issues. However, the politics is seemingly delaying the work that needs to be done.
#Yamuna #YamunaRiver #ToxicFoam #Pollution #ArvindKejriwal #DelhiCrisis #Worldnews #Oneindia #Oneindia
~PR.320~ED.346~HT.334~
#Yamuna #YamunaRiver #ToxicFoam #Pollution #ArvindKejriwal #DelhiCrisis #Worldnews #Oneindia #Oneindia
~PR.320~ED.346~HT.334~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink.
00:11If Samuel Taylor Coleridge was standing next to me at the banks of the historic river Yamuna,
00:17he would have been crying rivers.
00:19Why so?
00:20Because look at the state of the river Yamuna, which often is referred to as the lifeline
00:27of Delhi NCR, but not anymore.
00:30Yamuna's history, its origin, and the stories associated with it are immense, are a plenty.
00:38But the question is whether Yamuna is clean or not.
00:40I don't need to say anything looking at this white froth.
00:45It might appear to be a beauteous sight for many, but technically and toxically, it is
00:53very, very harmful.
00:56We have come here at the banks of river Yamuna, which connects Delhi.
01:00You see this highway going into the heart of Delhi.
01:04And then at the back, if you would see on my left-hand side, skyscrapers dotting the
01:10face of Noida NCR.
01:13Noida falls in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi governed by Aam Aadmi Party.
01:17And in between is everything that is happening.
01:20This particular river criss-crosses the national capital, touching almost several points.
01:26And bridges, over bridges like these, road, metro trains, and railways, they have been
01:33erected over it over the past few years.
01:37You see the water gushing out from one of the doors, one of the gates of the Kalindi
01:42Kunj Bridge, and the clarity with which you can see the white froth coming in is a cause
01:50of concern.
01:51It is coming from all the industrial waste that is being pumped into river Yamuna.
01:55Who would stop them?
01:56Who would ask the question that, hey, why are you putting untreated water in Yamuna?
02:02The story doesn't end there.
02:04It has lots and lots of layers into it, whether it's a government apathy, whether it's a fight
02:11between the Delhi government and the Uttar Pradesh government, center and the state,
02:15whether it is the lack of awareness of the industries, which are so many of them dotting
02:24several pockets on the adjacent banks of this river.
02:27Are they responsible?
02:29When you reach here, in the heart of the city, there is a distinct stench in the air.
02:34You can feel it.
02:35When you smell it, people say that in Mumbai, when you go there, there's a smell of sea.
02:41But here, standing here on the banks of river Yamuna, it's a stench of chemical.
02:45It's a stench of government apathy, and it's a stench of a war, a faceless war that no
02:54one has so far been able to hold one person accountable for it.
02:59Clearly, the media houses also have come here in a plenty.
03:05They are also covering this scenario as of now, only for the fact that the Chhatt festival
03:13is approaching, where the devotees come on the river banks, and then they offer their
03:18obeisance to the setting sun first, and then the rising sun.
03:23Always with the changing topography, the changing dynamics of Delhi and NCR, where lots and
03:29lots of people coming from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are settling down here, they want
03:34to celebrate their festivals, Chhatt being one of them.
03:37And now, in the public glare, in the media glare, these news start to make headlines.
03:43But the apathy is not just from the government side, but it is also from the people in general,
03:49also from the media, and certainly also from the government, who are not paying enough
03:55attention to attend to this colossal issue that is flowing right beneath our nose.
04:03This is Pankaj Mishra reporting for One India from the banks of river Yamuna at the cusp
04:08of Delhi NCR.