Daily Briefing: Who’s polluting the Yamuna?

On that note, let’s get to today’s edition.

Big Story

Who’s polluting the Yamuna River? The answer depends on who you ask. In the past few days, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal has stirred up a storm, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Haryana government of “poisoning” the Yamuna waters. The Nayab Saini government, of course, denies the charges.

The politics: Why the sudden hullaballoo over the Yamuna waters? Well, Delhi is just days away from the high-stakes Assembly elections. The national capital will vote on February 5. Consequently, Kejriwal’s remarks have come under the Election Commission’s scrutiny. Acting on complaints by the BJP and Congress, the polling body has demanded proof from Kejriwal over his claims, which it said “promoted disharmony and enmity”. In turn, Kejriwal insists that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is “engaging in politics” for “a job post-retirement”.

The facts: Kejriwal’s claims are entirely fictional. The Yamuna River, indeed, has harmful levels of ammonia, which render even water treatment plants ineffective. But the problem isn’t new. Where do the pollutants come from? Documents obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the Upper Yamuna River Board, which regulates the river waters, point fingers towards industrial units in Panipat and Sonipat. But few sources in Delhi are just as much to be blamed.

The way forward: Shailaja Chandra, former chief secretary of Delhi, writes on the need to rise above politics to address the Yamuna problem. The revival of the river demands cooperation from all states and stakeholders.

Only in Express

AI, made-in-India: India has decided to jump on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon, inspired by the low-cost Chinese model DeepSeek. It intends to build a domestic large language model of its own as part of the Rs 10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission. Has India got what it takes? Well, we had experts write for our weekly Dis/Agree column to inform the debate.

AI experts B Ravindran and Krishnan Narayanan believe India has the talent and the resolve. “The time for collective AI action is now“.

Meanwhile, cyber security analyst Subimal Bhattacharjee is more cautious. Noting India’s lag in developing foundational models, he suggests a multi-pronged strategy for our AI ambitions.

From the Front Page

The aftermath: The Uttar Pradesh government is looking to make amends after a pre-dawn stampede at the Sangam in Prayagraj on Wednesday killed at least 30 people. A day later, It issued a string of directives, including the cancelling of all VVIP passes and declaring the entire Maha Kumbh area as a no-vehicle zone.

Traces of the incident remain at the mela grounds with footwear, clothes and backpacks strewn near the Sangam ghat. The ambulances and security personnel are nearer and more in numbers. Reporting from the ground, my colleague Maulshree Seth writes of the nervous air at the Maha Kumbh as devotees exercise more caution than before.

For more on the Maha Kumbh stampede, tune in to today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast.

Must Read

Tax cuts? The Budget Session of Parliament kicks off today. Tomorrow, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025-26. There are several calls for the government to cut taxes, which begs the question: Are Indians paying more taxes than those in other countries? It’s not so easy. Udit Misra finds that the answer lies in a careful assessment of incomes, economic growth and the extent of a country’s democracy. Read his analysis.

Space chronicles: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is taking one for the team—for 1.4 billion people to be precise. He is about to become the second Indian to travel to space. As he prepares to go into space as part of the United States’ Axiom 4 mission, Shukla has found a mentor in the first Indian that went to space 40 years ago.

And Finally…

As Virat Kohli returned to domestic first-class cricket after 13 years, so did the crowds at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy tie against Railways. Authorities scrambled to accommodate people in the stands as 12,000 fans turned up at the Kotla. With Delhi’s turn to bat today, fans might get to see Kohli in action today.

That’s all for today folks. Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta

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