Frothing in Yamuna a rare sight in monsoon season, says experts

However, the Yamuna River under the old ITO Bridge has no flow, owing to the heavy frothing floating over the long stretch of the river.
Frothing in Yamuna a rare sight in monsoon season, says experts

NEW DELHI: While crossing the Old ITO Bridge from Lakshmi Nagar towards ITO, the sight of foul-smelling Yamuna covered with white toxic froth will surprise one as frothing happening amid the monsoon season is a rare sight, according to the Delhi-based experts. However, the Yamuna River under the old ITO Bridge has no flow, owing to the heavy frothing floating over the long stretch of the river.

South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), an informal network that works on issues related to rivers, large dams and their impacts, sustainability and governance claimed that the Yamuna is witnessing frothing leading to a foul smell as some of the ITO barrage gates have not been functioning, creating problem in smooth flow in the river.

Bheem Singh Rawat, Associate coordinator of SANDRP said, “Normally during the monsoon season, the flow of river is normal which helps in diluting pollutants. However, this time the sight was unusual and unprecedented. In the past three-four days, we have witnessed good spells of rain, after which a low level of flood spell should have reached the Yamuna by now but nothing of that sought happened.”

“The river is covered with froth during Chhat pooja festival, but no action is taken against it,” Rawat added.He added, “We have been told that some of the ITO barrage gates have not been functioning. Also pollution coming from the Rajghat Nala, ITO damages the river.”Ashok Upadhayay, a caretaker of small nursery near the river said, “Big turtles are found in Yamuna and they gasp for air as there is hardly any oxygen in the river. The froth and garbage in the river is posing threat to the aquatic wildlife.”

Meanwhile, none of the Delhi Jal Board officials were available for an answer.According to the experts, the primary reason behind the formation of the toxic foam is high phosphate content in the wastewater because of detergents used in dyeing industries, dhobi ghats and households in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Water Minister Satyendar Jain in March advanced the deadline of the cleaning of the river to 2023 from 2025. However, the city based non-government organisations working on the issue clearly said that the government will not be able to meet the deadline if they don’t start working on ‘real issues’.Announcing the new deadline, Jain said, “We will invite you all to take a dip in any stretch of the river in Delhi. The water will be so clean that one would be able to find fishes in the river. In the next five to ten years, Delhi’s groundwater table will be as good as it was 50 years ago.”

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