Delhi: Yamuna water worsens, faecal coliform 6,400 times safe level | Latest News Delhi

The water quality in the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna has worsened significantly in the past month, with faecal coliform levels and biological oxygen demand (BOD) reaching alarming heights in February, according to a report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

The report, dated February 28, found that faecal coliform levels at Asgarpur, where the river exits Delhi, reached 16 million units per 100 millilitres — 6,400 times the permissible limit set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This marks the highest recorded contamination since December 2020, when it was 1.2 billion/100ml.

The findings highlight the river’s prolonged struggle with untreated sewage and industrial waste, that have plagued the river for decades with no clear solution in sight.

Faecal coliform, a measure of bacteria from human waste in water, are an indication of sewage polluting the river. Faecal coliform levels have been rising steadily in the last few months, jumping from 8.4 million units per 100 ml in December to 16 million units/100ml in February.

Meanwhile, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, which indicate the oxygen required for aquatic life, also saw a significant worsening. The higher the BOD, the more difficult it is for aquatic life to survive.

While the safe BOD limit is 3 mg/l, it was mg/l at Palla. Data showed while the BOD standards did not meet any of the eight points samples were lifted, it was recorded at 72 mg/l at Asgarpur – 24 times the safe limit.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were meanwhile within permissible limits (over 5 mg/l) at both Palla (6.0) and Wazirabad (5.3), before becoming zero at the next point downstream at ISBT bridge. It remained zero till the river exited Delhi.

DPCC, in compliance with a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, releases monthly water quality reports. Water samples are lifted manually from eight points in the river, starting upstream at Palla, where the Yamuna enters the Capital from Haryana, with the final sample collected at Asgarpur, where the river leaves Delhi into Uttar Pradesh.

The river’s deteriorating condition has become a major political issue in Delhi.

In the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections in recent months, Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal repeatedly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Haryana government of discharging pollutants into the Yamuna. The BJP, meanwhile, blamed the AAP for failing to clean up the river despite being in power in the Capital for more than a decade.

On February 16, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena announced the start of a cleanup initiative, deploying trash skimmers, weed harvesters, and dredging machines.

On March 11, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Delhi government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to run a water ferry service upstream of Wazirabad on a 4-kilometre-long route. At the same event, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta announced the government plans to “clean the river within three years”, adding it may take assistance of the territorial army too.

Experts say the latest data highlights that contamination from untreated sewage is still entering the river in large volumes.

“It shows that both our sewage treatment plants (STPs) are not functioning adequately and we also have a gap between the sewage generated and the sewage being treated. Until we tackle that, such a situation cannot be rectified,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist, and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).

Pankaj Kumar, another Yamuna activist who goes by the name ‘Earth Warrior’ on X, said data shows that authorities must trap and treat wastewater before it reaches the river.

“If we look at the data, the faecal coliform shoots up nearly 16 times between Okhla barrage and Asgarpur. This is also the points where Shahdara and Abul Fazal drains meet and that shows these drains are bringing large quantities of raw sewage into the river. When we know the sources of sewage, it is important to trap them and ensure they go to STPs. At the same time, until our STPs meet standards, we will still not be able to clean the river,” he said.