‘People dump clothes, waste’: Personnel tasked with keeping the Yamuna clean face several challenges

Yudhisthir Sethu has tall fences on both sides of the bridge, but people driving past in vehicles manage to throw waste over the fence and into the river, he added. On Sunday, the pavements along the bridge were littered with waste, garlands in some places and garbage in others.

“Wahan jo log phekne ke liye aate hain, woh mana karne se maanthe nahi hain (those who come to throw things into the river don’t listen when asked not to). People have been throwing waste in the river for so long that they are used to it. Our duty is to ensure they don’t do this,” he said.

Despite being faced with obstinacy from those who throw waste in the river, he was hopeful that the drains and the river will eventually turn clean. “We’re trying… we talk to people who try to throw waste here, give them suggestions, say no. Some people listen and others don’t. But there’s hope that slowly, the number of people throwing things in the river will reduce,” he added.

They work from 6 am to 8 pm, with Sundays off. “Around 35-40 of us are deployed every day, at different locations, including all the bridges spanning the Yamuna like the Signature Bridge. Work involves patrolling as well. We also patrol the banks of the river to stop people who may be throwing waste from there. Along the banks of the river, it’s easier, people still listen to us. But on the bridges, the issue is that we may have told them not to, but as they’re driving away, they end up flinging the waste into the river anyway. It’s not possible to stop that. Then all we can say is that we tried and did our duty,” said the officer.

Garlands and religious material for immersion also find their way into the river. “There are people who come and say they want to carry out immersion. We try to tell them that instead of throwing it from the bridge, the material can be immersed at designated ghats. We explain that it will be difficult to clean the river if things are dumped at all sorts of points instead of the designated ghats,” he said.

According to details submitted at the third meeting of the high-level committee held in March, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) had provided “one platoon of company consisting of one officer, 02 JCOs and 31 other ranks was deployed on 17.02.2023 in accommodation provided by I&FC (Irrigation and Flood Control).”

The NMCG has also asked for accommodation for another two platoons of the GTF (Ganga Task Force) for at least one year, according to the presentation made at the meeting. DUSIB shelters or sheds were being considered for this in the floodplain area.

This is not the first time that the Territorial Army, an auxiliary group consisting of part-time volunteers who provide support and services to the Indian Army, is being deployed for environment-related duties in Delhi. The Eco Task Force of the Territorial Army has been deployed in the Southern Ridge from 2000-2001 onwards.

Pollution in the river comes from different sources including domestic and industrial effluents.