Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Dealing a resounding slap on the wrists of civic organisations in the Capital, a study by American magazine Forbes has listed Delhi as the 24th dirtiest city in the world.

Even as the Capital races to put up a wholesome face to the world in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the new study has laid bare the inadequacies of the various sprucing-up plans that are supposedly progressing in a “time-bound” manner.

The prime reason why Delhi made the unenviable list is the pollution in the Yamuna that, the magazine reports, is devoid of marine life.

“Garbage and sewage flow freely, creating a rich environment for the growth of water-borne diseases contributing to extremely high rates of infant morbidity,” says the report.

Analysing over 200 cities worldwide, the rankings have been prepared by estimating levels of air pollution, waste management, water quality, hospital services, medical supplies and presence of infectious diseases with New York used as the norm.

Asked about it, Delhi Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur said though it was an irrefutable fact that the Yamuna was polluted, the only remedy was to face the issue squarely.

“The Yamuna is not a flowing river and it stagnates during the non-monsoon period. In its 22-km stretch from Wazirabad to the Okhla barrage, 18 drains open into it and dump it with untreated sewage,” he said.

According to Mr. Mathur, the cure for the ailing river is a multi-organisational responsibility with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Government playing the most important roles.

“For our part, we are in the process of finalising an interceptor sewer plan that will prevent dumping of untreated sewage into the river,” he said, adding, “Engineers India Limited has been awarded the contract for implementing the plan and once through this will resolve 75 per cent of the pollution problems of the river by way of sewage.”

Instead of pointing a finger at us, the Government should acknowledge the abject failure of the Yamuna Action Plan that has resulted in unchecked pollution of the river.”

According to Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, what Forbes magazine has reported now has been public knowledge for the Capital’s residents all along. “I am actually disappointed that Delhi was not ranked No. 1,” he added sarcastically.

According to Mr. Misra, the only way out is to lobby for greater water release from neighbouring Haryana to maintain a steady flow in the Yamuna.

Delhiites perhaps can take heart from the fact that Mumbai has been ranked by the magazine as the seventh dirtiest city in the world!