The Yamuna may be clinically dead from the poison of 800 million gallons of sewage poured into it every day but it isn't brain dead yet. Robert Oates of Thames Rivers Restoration Trust presented a lecture in Delhi on Yamuna's meager hopes.

 

"It is not just Government's but every citizen of Delhi's responsibility to make sure that the river's cleanliness is restored and its purity revived," he said. The Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) South Asia Network for Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP), Toxics Link and Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA) organised a lecture by Robert Oates of TRRT.
 
In a presentation, the TRRT detailed how the whole Thames river restoration project was undertaken. TRRT is an independent charity in the UK dedicated to improving the Thames river in London and its tributaries to benefit people and nature and it has done some pioneering work in recent years. Robert explained that the difficulties TRRT had to face 150 years back will not be faced by Delhi's governance with all its knowledge and technical advances like GIS at their disposal. "It might not take as long as 50 years for the whole restoration project of Yamuna. It might take even less than 15 years if all goes to plan," he said.

 
Yamuna today is what London's Thames was 150 years ago, with all its water polluted almost irrevocably. It seemed impossible to restore it to its natural state, but it was good governance that brought life back to the river. Oates shared all the experiences of his effort to revive the Thames. SK Mishra, Chairman, INTACH, Ramaswamy Iyer and Manoj Mishra of YJA pointed out along with Oates the right measures that should be undertaken to improve the health of Yamuna. The drains dumping the sewage and the encumbered water flow are the two major causes that impede the river.
 
"There are just 17 sewage treatment plants which are not functioning to their designed capacity, to serve the drains feeding 1,200 km of the Yamuna. Instead, the Government is investing 1,500 crore rupees on an interception treatment plant which is not even capable of treating the sewage," said the presentation.