Indian politician vows to clean polluted river, bathe in it
New Delhi, Mar 22 (EFE).- The head of government of New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, promised on Wednesday to clean up the Yamuna river that runs through the capital before the next elections in 2025 and bathe in it as proof of its cleanliness.
“A six-point action plan has been formed to clean Yamuna…Before the next election in 2025, I will take a dip with you in Yamuna,” Kejriwal said at a press conference on the budget for the capital for the next financial year.
The six-point plan includes stopping the dumping of industrial waste in the Yamuna, increasing wastewater treatment capacity and improving the city’s sewer network.
Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in India and it is common for large masses of white foam to pile up daily on its banks as it passes through the capital, as a result of the liters of untreated fecal water, industrial and agricultural waste flowing into it.
The river has remained highly polluted for decades, prompting numerous electoral promises from both from the regional administration and the central government about cleaning it up, which however have never materialized.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee, in its latest report in February, estimated that the Yamuna carries nearly 3 billion liters of wastewater every day, of which 900 million liters are untreated.
There are 35 wastewater treatment stations currently in operation, but are inadequate for completely cleaning the river.
Hence, there are plans for the construction of up to 40 new plants with many of them expected to be operational this year. EFE
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