Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna: A Step towards Restoring Delhi’s Lifeline
On 16th March, 2010 Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launched ‘Meri Dilli Meri Yamuna’ to clean the polluted Yamuna River. Inaugurating the campaign, he said, “A staggering 3.6 billion ton of untreated sewage flows daily into the Yamuna and the river supplies 60% of the water needed by the Delhi region. The situation is dire. We need to act now. And one single organization or entity cannot do things all by itself. Only collectively can this clean-up be possible.”
What followed was a comprehensive approach towards cleaning the dirty river. The team reached out to all the stakeholders – the citizens, the government, education institutions, NGOs, corporate houses and requested them to take part in the campaign. On the morning of 17th March, Gurudev was at the ITO Ghat on a boat, wearing a mask and gloves, taking out clothes, plastics, images of worship and debris from the dark, dirty waters of the river. Thousands of volunteers gathered from different walks of life to take part in the noble initiative.
Along with The Art of Living volunteers, employees from IRCTC, Philips, Max Healthcare, NDPL and other noted corporate organizations joined hands to take part in the massive campaign. Apart from working at the ITO Ghat, the team was involved in cleaning the Wazirabad Ghat, Nizamuddin Ghat, Kalindi Ghat, Kudesia Ghat, Okhla Bird Sanctuary Ghat, Yamuna Bazaar Ghat and Okhla Dhobi Ghat, along the stretch of the Yamuna. For several days, thousands of volunteers worked across the length and breadth of the Yamuna, taking out truckloads of filth from the polluted river.
Other highlights:
- Over 2000 school children joined the campaign
- Environment care promotion through interactions with hundreds of people, including farmers, professionals, parents and village representatives
- Stress management workshops for more than 500 people from underprivileged sections to encourage greater participation
- Several other programs launched, including ‘Clean Delhi Drive’ and ‘Health Walk’
- 108 saplings planted
- Medical and immunization camps organized around the ghats for people living there
So far, more than 600 tons of garbage has been removed from the Yamuna. The Art of Living team is now engaged in preparing enzymes made of fruits and vegetables to rid the Yamuna of its stench and toxicity. After just few days of introducing the enzyme into the river, the amount of pollutants has decreased significantly. In fact, birds and buffaloes that never came here before are now seen venturing near it.
The Art of Living has since taken up cleaning and rejuvenating rivers all across India. So far, The Art of Living has revived 30 rivers across 4 states, benefitting lakhs of villagers.
