NEW DELHI: The Yamuna — plunging from the icy heights of the Yamunotri glacier in Uttarakhand at an altitude of 6,387 metres — brings life to the plains underneath. For much of its 1,376-km course through Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana, the river flows relatively unscathed by impurity. But when it enters Delhi, it starts to decay, fast and fatally.
A 22-km-stretch of the Yamuna passes through Delhi. This mere 2% of the vast river system has the unique dishonour of contributing nearly 80% of the total pollution in the river. It’s here that the water turns from sacred to sick. The river, worshipped and revered, turns a sludge of sewage, chemicals and suspended waste — a dead drain dragging itself across the city.
The reasons are as clear as these waters once were. According to government data, the national capital generates around 3,000 to 3,300 million litres of sewage daily at the mercy of the 37 sewage treatment plants across the city. Most of them outdated, or underperforming, these facilities can treat up to 2,800 MLD (million litres per day) on best days.
Even then, only around 60% of the city sewage is effectively treated, while the rest is flushed directly into the Yamuna. This untreated sewage alone is enough to turn the river black, breed disease in its murky depths.
There are 22 major drains emptying into the Yamuna in Delhi. Of these, just two, the Najafgarh and Shahdara drains, account for 84% of the pollution from these outlets. These drains carry the city’s domestic wastewater, industrial discharge, faecal matter, solid waste, and often, dead animals. The results are visible to the naked eye — black, bubbling water that smells of decay and chemical fumes.
In 2023, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary presented figures that exposed the exact scale of devastation. At Yamunotri, the river source, faecal coliform levels stood at just 2 MPN (Most Probable Number), a method of gauging the concentration of bacteria in water.
But, as soon as the river enters Delhi and meets the Shahdara and Tughlaqabad drains at Asgarpur, the bacterial concentration shoots up to a staggering 2,85,000 MPN, making the water unfit even for contact. For reference, the safe limit for bathing is 500 MPN.
Further downstream, in UP, the river carries these scars. It recorded 35,000 MPN at Shahpur, and 610 MPN at Prayagraj, still far bieyond safety standards. Once polluted in Delhi, the river never fully recovers.
Beyond the untreated sewage lies another killer, industrial waste. Delhi is home to more than 1,500 unauthorised industrial units, many of which operate in violation of environmental norms. These units, often engaged in dyeing, electroplating, paper production, and chemical manufacturing, dump their toxic waste directly into nearby drains that lead to the river. Heavy chemicals enter the Yamuna silently, but with deadly consequences. These poisons settle in the water and the riverbed, affecting aquatic life, before silently creeping into the human food chain.
Plastic waste is yet another problem. Despite the ban on single-use plastics, enforcement on the ground is weak. Polythene bags, bottles, wrappers, and construction debris are a common sight in Yamuna waters and along its banks.
The mess is aggravated manifold during religious festivities, when people immerse idols, flowers, and ritual offerings into the river. Many of these items are coated with toxic paints, chemicals, and synthetic dyes that further degrade the water quality.
The Yamuna’s natural flow is interrupted by the three major barrages erected to impede its course at Wazirabad, ITO, and Okhla. Between these barriers, the river becomes more like a stagnant pond than a flowing water body.
In some parts of the capital, dissolved oxygen levels in Yamuna water drops to nearly zero, making it impossible for any aquatic life to survive in these festering depths. Fish deaths have become a routine sight along the river as the ecosystem suffocates.
While the crisis has deep roots, the failure of authorities to act decisively is perhaps the final blow. In February 2025, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) harshly criticised the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for failing to remove illegal encroachments along the Yamuna floodplains. The DDA, in yet another delay tactic, asked for more time to submit an action taken report.
This is not new. Five years ago, the NGT had ruled that the floodplains must be kept free from constructions and encroachments due to their sensitive environment. But the order has seen little light of day. Shanties, unauthorised constructions and dumping grounds continue to proliferate along Yamuna banks.
Last year, the Delhi High Court ordered the DDA and other civic agencies to coordinate and clear all illegal structures along the river and its drains. It even summoned the DDA vice-chairperson to ensure the orders are followed.
The Supreme Court, in January 2024, called for preservation of Yamuna’s floodplains “for the greater public good.”
Yet, the river gasps. Thousands of crores have been flushed on Yamuna Action Plans, beautification projects, and public awareness drives. But these efforts are, more often than not, cosmetic. Banks are cleaned, saplings are plated at random places for photo-ops, while the core problem — raw sewage and industrial waste pouring into the river — remains largely ignored.
Hope has been fleeting. During the lockdown, when industrial units were shut and public movement was restricted, the Yamuna showed signs of revival. The water was clearer. Fish emerged from the depths. But then human life resumed, and the killing began again.
Faith, filth and a stagnant river
At Yamunotri, faecal coliform levels are 2 MPN
At Asgarpur, they spike to staggering 2,85,000 MPN
Safe bathing limit? Just 500 MPN
The capital generates up to 3,300 million litres of sewage every day
Only 60% of this is treated. The rest flows unimpeded into the Yamuna River
22 drains across the city pour filth into the river
Just Najafgarh and Shahdara drains account for 84% of this toxic inflow
Barages at Wazirabad, ITO & Okhla turn the Yamuna into a stagnant drain
Dissolved oxygen hits zero at certain points, suffocating aquatic life to painful death