PHOTO STORY – Delhi’s worshipped and abused Yamuna river
After the controversial Art of Living event on its floodplain, a photographer’s journey down the Yamuna in Delhi captures the extent of abuse and encroachments
In Hindu mythology, Yamuna is the sister of Yama, the God of Death. Two days after every Diwali, millions of women pray to her to safeguard their brothers, while it is the manifestation of the goddess in the Yamuna River that they abuse through the year.
The abuse is at its worst in India’s capital. Except in a good monsoon, the authorities take all the fresh water as the Yamuna reaches Delhi. For most of the year, when the river leaves Delhi 20 km downstream, it only has drain water.
The water channels of the Yamuna take up 1,600 hectares in Delhi; another 8,100 hectares are designated as its floodplain. This has been encroached upon by government and private agencies alike, of which the Art of Living Foundation festival was only the latest example. The crucial functions of the floodplain — groundwater recharge and flood control — have been seriously compromised.
A pristine Yamuna is a life-giving river, as can still be seen in the stretch before its water is appropriated. Starting there, thethirdpole.net travelled the 20 km to document how the Yamuna is changed to an encroached-upon drain.
All images by Dilip Banerjee, photojournalist based in Delhi