New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Aiming to rejuvenate the Yamuna, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will conduct a study of 75 drains that discharge into the river along the 22-kilometre stretch passing through the national capital, officials said on Tuesday.
Rapid urbanisation in recent decades has caused the Yamuna to degenerate into a virtual sewage drain in Delhi, they said.
“We plan to install flow meters to measure the discharge of these drains. The study aims to ensure effective abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of the river Yamuna by adopting a river basin approach. A tender has been issued for the project,” a DJB official said.
While the river length in the entire national capital region is approximately 52 kilometres, 22 kilometres of this, which passes through urban Delhi, is currently heavily polluted.
“The study will also measure the amount of discharge entering into the larger drains like Najafgarh, Shahdara, and the Supplementary Drain, which are major contributors to the pollution load in the river. Some interstate drains will also be measured,” the project plan stated.
According to the plan, the DJB will study around 13 interstate drains that stretch across the state borders of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Some of the largest drains include the Bupania Chudania drain, the Mangeshpur drain entering from Haryana, drain Number 6 near the Narela border, the Alipur link drain, the Mungeshpur link drain before entering Delhi, and the Mandauri drain.
Currently, the DJB is unable to treat the entire amount of sewage generated by the city, and a large amount ends up entering the river. To increase its overall sewage treatment capacity, the Delhi government is connecting all the households to sewerage treatment infrastructure.
Beyond infrastructure development, the government is focusing on the Najafgarh drain — once the Sahibi River — which has now become the largest source of pollution entering the Yamuna.
Officials said the drain carries approximately 800 million gallons per day (MGD) of untreated sewage, a significant increase from the earlier estimate of 600 MGD. PTI SSM ANM ANM
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