Yamuna Back To Reclaim Its Floodplain

For a large majority of Delhi residents who have in their living memory seen the Yamuna as nothing but an oversized toxic sewer, the spectacle of the submerged Kashmere Gate-ISBT stretch and waters swirling through the streets of tony Civil Lines is perhaps a sight of a lifetime, a glimpse of a mighty river that once was.

- Shivani Singh

This majority could be forgiven for thinking the Yamuna is acting up, because it is not common knowledge that much of what is submerged today is essentially built on what was meant to be the river’s breathing space. Called a floodplain, this space is meant to function as the national capital’s personal water recharge kit, collecting surplus water to replenish the city’s aquifers.

“At least 1 km on each side [of the river] should be maintained as floodplain because its aquifers are perhaps best water sources we have left… that is why it is called the Blue Gold,” said Vikram Soni, emeritus professor, Jamia Millia Islamia, who has authored multiple articles on the health of rivers in India.

Experts say that even temporary construction on the floodplain can destroy the local ecology and restrict the natural flow of water -- and in Delhi, the floodplain has come under relentless onslaught.

To be sure, this is not unique to Delhi; last year’s floods in Bengaluru and the century’s worst floods in Chennai were caused by similar factors.

“Before embankments, the space for the river was wide in scope. The river reached the walls of the Red Fort; it used to flow where we have the Ring Road today. But in the 20th century, the river got jacketed by embankments,” said Manu Bhatnagar, an environmental planner who heads the Natural Heritage Division of Intach.