Date:10/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/10/stories/2008071053800400.htm

New Delhi

A new plan to revive Yamuna

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Forest Research Institute has come up with a proposal

‘The Yamuna is dying because there is a surfeit of sewage flowing into it’

The Dehra Dun-based institute has submitted a proposal to the Delhi Development Authority

NEW DELHI: With the 2010 deadline for cleaning the Yamuna inching closer, efforts to resuscitate the dying river are being intensified. To this end, the Dehra Dun-based Forest Research Institute has come up with a new plan to clean up the river.

The Institute has submitted a proposal to the Delhi Development Authority that involves growing plants in the unclean water to rid it of impurities. “We have already used the model in Dehra Dun for cleaning water that was being polluted by effluents from a nearby cement factory. Based on this successful model we have asked the DDA to create a pool near Raj Ghat where we will grow special water plants to clean up the Yamuna,” said Institute Director Dr. S. S. Negi.

The procedure, known as root zone treatment, will involve growing fragmented plants in a standing pool that use bacteria to clean the water. “The DDA has been entrusted with the work of creating infrastructure and providing necessary inputs for implementing the project while a team from FRI will provide technical assistance to run the river cleaning programme,” Dr. Negi added.

While both the Delhi Jal Board -- which is working on a proposal to set up interceptor sewers to trap sewage from falling into the river -- and FRI officials are optimistic about reviving the river, environmentalist and water conservation experts are sceptical about the claims that the river would be cleaned up ahead of the Commonwealth Games in the city in 2010. “The Yamuna is dying because there is a surfeit of sewage flowing into it. Almost 800 MGD (million gallons a day) of sewage goes into the river everyday. What the municipal authorities claim is storm water is nothing but untreated waste that mixes with the water and is responsible for killing the river. Another major reason for water pollution is the presence of dissolved chemicals in the water, which even the sewage treatment plants are not able to remove,” said Diwan Singh of NGO Natural Heritage First. The Institute will also assist the Delhi Government in greening the Yamuna floodplains where the Commonwealth Games Village is coming up. “Our scientists will suggest the varieties of trees and plants that should be cultivated at the site of the Commonwealth Games Village. It is important that when the Games are held in October-November the trees are in full bloom,” Dr. Negi said.