What Is This Campaign About?

preventing the revival of river Yamuna. Even the
judiciary while addressing the question of
encroachments in the river has linked it only as a
pollution issue rather than a issue about maintaining
the integrity of the river ecosystem.
While admittedly the rampant pollution of river
Yamuna mainly in its 22 km stretch in Delhi is one
of the major problems facing the river Yamuna it is
firstly the question of the survival of the river as an
ecosystem in its own right which should ideally take
precedence over all other actions. If the river in its
natural form is lost then clean water if ever available
can as well flow in a channelised drain without the
benefits accruing to the multitudes from a river
system.
Yamuna flood plain south of the ITO bridge under conversion
for the Yamuna Depot of the Delhi Metro (Date of Photograph:
28 January 2007)
Focussing on an encroacher only as an existing or
potential polluter automatically targets the residents
of either the JJ colonies or of the unauthorized
colonies since these remaining outside the planned
sewage management schemes of the state are
assumed to be the key polluters. This approach
presumes that the river is not getting polluted either
by the power plants, or the metro stations or an
Akhshardham or a games village.
PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH
Signature Bridge or the Najafgarh Drain
The Najafgarh drain that meets the river Yamuna
just down stream of the Wazirabad Barrage (see
picture) is reputedly the most polluting of all the 22
drains feeding the river in Delhi. (Date of
Photograph: 28 January 200)
There is a proposal to raise a games village for the 2010
Commonwealth Games in Delhi spread over 42.5 ha of the Yamuna
flood plain next to the structure called Akshardham.
THE ELEMENT OF ILLOGIC
MISSING THE WOODS FOR THE TREES
Treating an encroacher only as a polluter is
missing the larger picture
The state and most others concerned has it seems
till date diagnosed only pollution as the key ill
What Is This Campaign About?
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