India is one of the top 10 countries that face water pollution. Three billion litres of waste is thrown into the Yamuna River in Delhi, India and this is what the residents in the area have to deal with every day. Can you imagine yourself trying to row your boat to the other end of the river? It is clearly difficult as the entire surface layer of the river is filled with trash. Can you even think of what more waste and trash lies underneath the surface? This problem of pollution in the Yamuna River is a small scale of pollution in India as 80% of the waste in India goes to nearby rivers and other bodies of water for disposal. It's like multiplying the amount of pollution in Yamuna River by more than 10 times! Thus, more than 128 million people in India lack access to safe drinking water.
The government has spent half a billion US dollars to clean the river, however, due to its neglect of sufficient sanitation measures and its failure in creating a functional sewage system. The major problem that the people in India face is the bad condition of the city's sewer system which enables waste to be delivered to the sewage treatment plants.
People find it interesting that the river Ganges is known to be sacred to the Hindus as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful, but it still remains as one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
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| This picture shows a boy in India swimming through the garbage and waste which pollutes many of India's rivers |
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| This picture shows a boy on a boat that could be picking up litter or searching through the litter for something of value which he can sell. In the background is litter on the surface of the river. |
