India. A layer of toxic foam covers the Yamuna river
Environment — di Martina Girola
The Yamuna river in India has been covered by a layer of toxic foam caused by waste that industries discharge directly into its waters.
India. A layer of toxic foam covers the Yamuna river
The Yamuna river in India has been covered by a layer of toxic foam caused by waste that industries discharge directly into its waters.
It is one of the most sacred rivers in India, but it is also one of the most polluted. It is venerated by Indians, yet used as a drainage channel by industry. It rises crystal clear in the Himalayan range, only to arrive in the capital Delhi blanketed in toxic foam. This is the story of contradictions of the Yamuna river, in northern India, the largest tributary of the Ganges.
Read also: La vita degli abitanti di Varanasi scorre sul Gange
A river declared ecologically dead, yet granted the status of a legal person
In 2017, the Yamuna river was declared ecologically dead, as only certain types of bacteria survive in its waters. With an oxygen level of 0 per cent, animal or plant life would be effectively impossible.
And yet, also a couple of years ago, the Uttarakhand High Court had granted it, along with the Ganges, the status of a legal person, in an attempt to protect both rivers from pollution. An attempt that, to this day, appears to have failed.
An Indian Hindu prays amidst the foam of the polluted #Yamuna River in New Delhi, by @dofaget; more in @ParisMatch: parismatch.com/Actu/Environne…
The foam of the Yamuna river
For years, due to the extreme pollution of the region, the Yamuna river periodically becomes covered in a layer of foam that at first glance might look almost like harmless snow, but which in reality poisons everything it comes into contact with. This strange phenomenon is caused by all the chemical agents, pesticides and metals that are discharged into its waters on a daily basis without being properly filtered. To date, more than a hundred companies have been accused of dumping the toxic waste from their production processes into the river without following the appropriate procedures. Indeed, it is estimated that only 5 per cent of the water that ends up in it is treated to legal standards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-N1mKIYZ6M
The Chhath festival
Despite nature having long since abandoned this place, the inhabitants of Delhi continue to frequent the banks of the Yamuna, bathing and washing their clothes in its toxic waters.
Over the past month, images of worshippers celebrating Chhath, a Hindu festival dedicated to the sun, as they immersed themselves completely in the river's white foam, have circulated around the world. A bittersweet situation when one considers that on that day the sun shone timidly, hidden behind a thick blanket of smog, and that the water which, according to the ritual, was supposed to bring prosperity and health, will end up poisoning all those present.
"I stayed in the water for an hour to pray, but it was very oily, dirty and had a strange smell," Sunita Devi told the British newspaper the Guardian, a worshipper who took part in Chhath. "According to the ritual we have to immerse ourselves completely, but I, unlike many of my friends, couldn't manage it. My legs were burning and after a while I had to go home and have a bath."
The health of those living near the Yamuna is irreparably compromised
The problem of the Yamuna is not limited solely to contact with its waters. Many of Delhi's inhabitants are even forced to drink its water, having no access to other sources of drinking water. Over the years, this has led to the development of deformities and various forms of poisoning, which residents must live with on a daily basis. The only solution would be to drink bottled water, but most people cannot afford it.
The government bears responsibility for all this pollution
"As a citizen of Delhi who has lived here all her life, this situation is shameful," declared to the Guardian Navdha Malhotra, campaigns director at Purpose, an Indian agency that helps organisations create social campaigns. "The government has shown zero willingness to discuss the problem of pollution. People are furious and parents are afraid to let their children run around outside."
Even the judges of the Indian Supreme Court have accused the authorities of having failed in the fight against pollution and of having "let people die". According to one of the judges, "no one is safe, not even in their own home," because not even the air is clean.
And to think that Delhi is not even among the ten most polluted cities in India.