Executive Director of Swechha, Vimlendu Jha's goal is to see a clean Yamuna in his lifetime. I didn't realize how ambitious this was until we visited the banks. Vimlendu is a young, passionate, leader who has dedicated his life to building programs and initiatives enabling social and environmental progress.
The Yamuna is India's primary source of water, yet to say it is polluted is an understatement. Over 60% of New Delhi's garbage ends up in the river. At the same time, the Yamuna is revered as a goddess. People pray and offer large statues of Gods into the river. These statues are made out of lead and are completely toxic. We saw a procession making such an offering during our visit.
Today we also took a boat "ride" to really see the filth described first hand. There was garbage everywhere. I saw a car pull over and throw garbage in plastic bags into the river, funeral pyres burning along the banks, holy men doing puja, and people bathing all alongside each other. We also stopped to see the junction after the Yamuna goes through the purification process - the water was completely black and smelled worse than anything I can describe.
I do not understand how people can revere the Yamuna as a goddess, yet abuse it so terribly. Today was an incredibly heavy day. India is lucky to have change makers like Vimlendu plowing forward on his vision for a clean Yamuna river.
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