Chronicles Yamuna: The Sewer of Delhi

Today, the new buzzword for 'saving' the river Yamuna is the 'Thames model'. This is the latest in a long line of many previous attempts to rescue the river from its current 'dead' status. The story of the Thames has long been cited as an instance to the world on how to clean up a 'dead' river flowing through a major city. But, little-known is the fact that London's 140-year old sewage system is in the throes of a crisis today, as nearly 60 storm drains carry sewage overflows into the river in breach of European Community norms designed to protect rivers against pollution levels that threaten wildlife.

London has been held up as a dramatic example of how to clean up a 'dead' river in a major urban concentration since a 20-year cleanup of the remaining discharges into the Thames culminated in dramatic improvements in the 1980s. Since then, however, things have been going downhill, with urban developments and climate change playing havoc with existing treatment capacities, and the city's drains failing to cope with the cumulative flow of the city's sewage and storm water mixed in with the rubbish washed off the streets.

As an emergency measure, Thames Water, the authority responsible for maintaining the river's water quality, operates two 'bubblers' - barges that pump enormous quantities of oxygen into the water to keep fish alive. These are put to work whenever oxygen levels decline as a result of the flow of sewage and waste into the Thames, a frequent occurrence every summer, when thousands of fish can be seen at the river's surface, gasping and close to suffocation.

Today, London is getting ready to construct a massive tunnel, nine metres wide and 22 miles long, in order to relieve the city's overloaded sewage system. This is a Pounds 2 billion project, which will add 12 Pounds a year to the average water bill. The tunnel is intended to divert sewerage flows and keep the river clean and unpolluted.

The story of a clean Thames is not only about the 'system' that our experts went over to London to inspect; it is about checks and balances that are constantly monitored and alternatives that are developed - an ongoing process involving scientists and engineers who remain hidden from the public eye.

Simply importing technology and know-how, without the application of common sense, can completely defeat a vital cause, and this is well demonstrated by the innumerable experiments tried out on the Yamuna. The Governments of India and Delhi have already spent over Rs. 1,500 crores on 'cleaning up' river, but its 'dead' status remains unaltered.

Recently a young schoolgirl sent an anguished query to a popular environmental website: "Why has the Government not been successful in cleaning the Yamuna river?" The Website's answer succinctly sums up the completely wasteful attitude and incompetence of the Administration: "The Yamuna Action Plan was formulated by the Government of India to clean the river Yamuna. However, the plan has met with limited success as adequate number of sewage/effluent treatment plants could not be constructed and the ones which were constructed did not function properly (factors - design not appropriate, skilled staff not available for operation and management). As a result, untreated sewage/ effluents continue to be discharged into river Yamuna." As simple as that.

So there we have it. How long will we continue to senselessly throw money down the drain? There is a complete lack of coherence that underlies all actions and this incoherence will continue to dominate until there is adequate study of causes, better understanding of systems and a clear vision to guide proposed solutions.

The Yamuna is not the only river to face these unfortunate circumstances. The world over, river restoration projects have met with failure when they are tackled with the same haphazard approach, as millions are pumped into every desperate measure. In China, rapid industrialization and urbanization threatens most of its more than 50,000 rivers. The Huaihe River remains highly polluted despite an ongoing 10-year mega-dollar project. The Pasig River in the Phillippines has seen several attempts at revival, one of which - led by former first lady Imelda Marcos - saw floating casinos and restaurants and gondolas imitating those of Venice. This is a chilling reminder of some of our very own planners' ideas for the Yamuna.

Billions of dollars have been wasted in such projects, but it is now increasingly being demonstrated that only the collective will of communities and determined and competent administrations make the difference. Piecemeal stabs in the dark go nowhere.

One of the greatest success stories in the revival of a river is the river Rhine. This legendary river reached such abysmal levels of pollution that it came to be referred as the 'sewer of Europe'. As the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, "Ye nymphs that reign o'er sewers and sinks, The River Rhine, it is well known, Doth wash your city of Cologne; But tell me, Nymphs, what power divine - Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?"

By 1970, the Rhine was dead. Over a quarter century, European Governments spent close to $70 billion in futile attempts to curb pollution, before the turning point for the river came in November 1986, when a fire broke out in the Sandoz AG chemical factory near Basel, Switzerland. As firemen doused the flames, water mixed with toxic pesticides flowed red into the Rhine. The deadly mixture killed tons of eels, fish and other animals and prompted a drinking water alert for 50 million people as far away as Amsterdam.

The Sandoz disaster convinced the nations along the Rhine that shock therapy was needed. Driven by a flood of popular support and political will generated by the Sandoz spill a three-phase, 15-year Rhine Action Plan was drafted. Going beyond that, a mascot or poster child representing the emotive appeal of the river was found in the famous salmon that once populated the river - the action plan now became the Salmon 2000 project.

The resurrection of salmon and sea trout in the Rhine was hailed as a spectacular victory for the project launched by Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands. These nations had long bickered over who was to blame for the poisoning of its waters and who should pay for its cleanup - and it took a near catastrophe to stop the finger-pointing and produce serious action.

The moral of this story? Technology and money were not enough to save the Rhine. Governments and businesses needed a common understanding, commitment and agenda for coherent action for results to be achieved. Treatment plants made the river water safe to drink again; industrial accidents became rare because dangerous industries were moved away from the river; international patrols of consumers now scour the river to clamp down on clandestine polluters. Recognizing that protecting the environment improves their stature with consumers, giant chemical companies all along the Rhine donated millions of dollars to university centres for research on new methods to protect the river.

The eventual success of the Rhine experiment is an example of the collective will and determination of communities, governments and nations coming together to address a common cause. With administrations governed by clarity and people willing to go so far as to boycott companies that were polluting the river, they were able to achieve what has been called one of the great environmental success stories of the century. If we are to repeat such a success with the Yamuna, the people will have to reclaim the river as their own, and reject the public, corporate and administrative apathy that has transformed it into an open sewer.

The eventual success of the Rhine experiment is an example of the collective will and determination of communities, governments and nations coming together to address a common cause. With administrations governed by clarity and people willing to go so far as to boycott companies that were polluting the river, they were able to achieve what has been called one of the great environmental success stories of the century. If we are to repeat such a success with the Yamuna, the people will have to reclaim the river as their own, and reject the public, corporate and administrative apathy that has transformed it into an open sewer.

Chitvan Gill

Published in The Pioneer, October 20, 2005

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