'Art of Living' is killing Yamuna: All you need to know about alarming pollution levels of Yamuna river

The Yamuna, a thread of water that gives Delhi a much-needed moist during the dry, harsh summer, is in danger. Rapid construction along the river has taken a toll on the environment of East Delhi. 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a famous spiritual speaker from Tamil Nadu, has further worsened the situation on the floodplain near Mayur Vihar in New Delhi. Shankar has organised a public event named 'World Culture Festival Art of Living' in the area. Such is the irony of the situation that the 'spiritual' event is apparently causing concrete harm to the eco-sensitive zone.

Many ecologists and environmentalists from across the country have condemned such ridiculous deforestation along the Yamuna bank. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped a fine of Rs 5 crore on Shankar for wrecking havoc in the area.

The united opposition had earlier condemned the Union Government in the Rajya Sabha for allowing Shankar to use Indian Army officials to build a wooden stage at the venue. The pollution levels along the Yamuna river has already reached a horrifying level in the last few decades. This event is doing nothing but adding on the woes.
 Here are some alarming facts about the rising level of pollution in the Yamuna:
The 20-kilometre stretch of the Yamuna river in the National Capital Region has one of the highest levels of industrial pollution in the country As per a recent report published online, the level of industrial pollution in Yamuna is nearly 13 times more than the permissible limit.
Wazirabad is the point where Yamuna enters the city. At this point, its dissolved oxygen (DO) content is 7.5 milligrammes per litre. At its point of exit from city limits, the DO level is only 1.3 mg/l.
The data, which was collected over a 10-year period of time by the Central Water Commission through its 371 monitoring stations across the country, shows that Yamuna has the highest level of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration when it passes through Delhi.
As per the finding of various tests, the pollution level of the river starts dropping as it passes Delhi and joins other smaller rivers In 2007, roughly half of all the city's raw sewage went straight into the river.
A total of 55 percent of the city's 15 million people are connected to the city's sewer system and its treatment plants, but because of corrosion and clogging in the system, many treatment plants do not run at full capacity. Because of this, waste from 1,500 unplanned neighbourhoods runs straight into the river.
A total of 18 drains of Delhi, whose water flows into the Yamuna, create 80 percent pollution in the river, Water Resources and River Development Minister, Uma Bharti said while announcing an ambitious project to clear the Yamuna. This project will begin in April 2016.