Jan 3, 2011

Arctic chemical waste dead poison river drain Yamuna - A Photo Walk!

It was a cold December morning, and we reached Okhla Bird Park. We stepped on to the bamboo bridge that joined the main path to watchtower no. 2. It was a sturdy and exciting bridge.


We walked to the watchtower and a little beyond right up to the water, but there were very few birds around. A purple heron was waiting to catch some fish.

Seeking more excitement, we came back from the watchtower and drove down the road that goes along the water body and on to the Kalindi Kunj main road. Surprisingly, there were a huge number of swallows flying over the water.


There were quite a few black headed gulls too.

We drove onto the main road and turned into the lane that goes along the 'nalla' flowing parallel to river Yamuna. We wanted to get aboat ride, but the fishermen there had shifted across the river on to the other bank. On the way back we saw a rapotor perched on a tree, it lookde like a Serpent Eagle but finally we agreed that it was nothing more exciting than a Black Kite.


On reaching the other bank, after driving into the road that heads out towards 'khader', we negotiated with a fisherman to take us around on the river. We stepped into the boat amidst an arctic landscape. It wasn't snow or ice though, it was industrial affluent foam that had formed a thick layer over the river water.




Here is the industrial waste arctic Yamuna river.

It looked very much like ice and snow, and it was blowing in the wind just like real snow flakes - yukkk!

As we went towards a sandbank in the middle of the river, we saw some river lapwings, with their tufts and slouching gait. The river by the way was so shallow at places that the fishermen had to literally slide it along the river bottom with help from bamboo poles wedged into the river's floor.

There were a whole lot of black winged stilts, and other smaller river birds like sandpipers.

We came round one of the electric towers in the middle of the river and were surprised to find many cormorants perched on the metal structure.

Here's a close look at the massive concrete bases of the metal frame.









On one of the sand banks there were several black kites. With the wind ruffling their feathers, they seemed to have all kinds of patterns.

Then as we took a route towards the Kalindi Kunj barrage, we saw the full glory of the river. It was worse than a drain, fishes would have been burnt by the toxic liquid that made up the river.

Something about it reminded me of the wastelands and evil of Mordor in the Lord of the rings. Here are a couple of views of the black bubbling toxic phlegm of a river.





If you ever travel on the Kalindi Kung barrage, I am sure you must have wondered what it was like under the barrage, and how the water was released on to the other side. Well here is what it looks like underneath the bridge.


Notice the water being released, and the arctic industrial waste.

The fishermen amazingly find fish even inside the arctic toxic waste. They are tiny half inch to an inch long fishes. If you see such tiny fishes in the market, I suggest you avoid them, because if they are from this part of the Yamuna, they'll contain only poisons.


Some more views of the arctic wasteland industrial spewed poisons.




Looks like a path made by an ice-breaker, but was actually done by a drain trawler.

Here's what it looks like from up close.





We went back feeling very angry and helpless. Someone please do something to save this river from apocalyptic annihilation.

Latest news is that my friend who had accompanied me, is on the verge of filing an RTI on this, kudos to him!

6 comments:

  1. Ouch!That the NCR ;s rivers are in this condition is an eye opener. We have this river killing foam eating up riers in small towns all the time but I did not expect such brazen defying of pollution laws. I will post the Act under which yr friend can file his RTI

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  2. Great eyeopener!! Hope our generation and the next does something about this.

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  3. Thanks Roopa and Rajat for your views, hope we can do something about it.

    Sanjeev

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  4. Great work Sanjeev, but shocking truth. This is in the capital of India!! Imagine how it will be anywhere else????!!!!

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  5. Few NGO as a pressure group are taking action for treating 17 drains entering yamuna in Delhi and almost 3,500 million liter of waste water enters yamuna everyday without any treatment.Please join us. write your views at pkaol@ymail.com or call me at 9711056509

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