Black river, buried treasure: How river Yamuna provides livelihood to people

The river is not very crowded today. “The Muslims haven’t come today because it’s Jumma,” says Sonu, pointing to the small mazaar adjacent to the temple. A teenager, Nikhil, swims back to the shore after depositing some puja material mid-stream. He has been lucky today and flashes a wide smile, fishing out a silver ring and a chain from his red cotton loincloth. The 17-year-old is new to the river, where black is the predominant colour. He used to work for a dhaba at ITO till a few months ago and started visiting the river when he lost the job. “I will do this until I get another job,” he says.

Sonu knows the river like the back of his hand. “I used to live with my parents in the nearby jhuggis that were demolished in the early 2000s. As children, we used to look for money to buy snacks and toys,” he says. His bare shoulders glisten in the sunlight; the rest of his body is submerged in the murky water of the Yamuna. “The water has no ill-effects on us because we have got used to it. We respect it for it gives us food and shelter,” he says.

A few feet away, near a broken boat moored to the bank, another man is feeling the riverbed with his hands. “I’ve been coming here since 1993, but my children are in respectable professions,” he says. Refusing to divulge his name or anything else, he swims away from the bank, strewn with broken pots, waste and small heaps of filth. For some, even this is a holy dip. Another swimmer, Arvind, 24, says, “Nobody can get infections or diseases here. In fact, this water can heal.”