The Hindu : New Delhi News : Focus on reviving Yamuna

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 23, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Focus on reviving Yamuna

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: To mark the Earth Day, a number of school children as well as teachers from across the Capital joined hands here on Sunday to create awareness about the quality of water flowing in the Yamuna.

Carrying forward their motto "We can bring the Yamuna back to life", the children went across the Yamuna on boats for a monitoring and cleaning drive. The event organised by Clean-India (Community Led Environment Action Network) of Development Alternatives with support from the Ministry of Environment and Forests was both a celebration of the river and an urgent call for action to save it.

The Yamuna river passing through 22 km in Delhi was once described as the lifeline of the city. But today it has become one of the dirtiest rivers in the country. The reason for this is simple -- as more than 3,296 million litres of sewage is unceremoniously thrown into it every day.

In addition, rapid urbanisation in Delhi has further deteriorated the water quality of the river and placed an excessive demand on the already scarce fresh water resources.

Besides being taught the importance of balancing the needs of the Mother Earth with the needs of humanity, the children associated with the drive are also well-informed about the role played by rivers in being one of the main sources of social, economic and environmental benefits in society.

The theme for this year for Clean-India is "Celebrating the River Yamuna".

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