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Agra/Mathura, 2015.01.10 (Zee News, IANS): Green activists plan to stage protests in the Indian capital Feb 1 to demand that the Narendra Modi government act fast to clean up the highly polluted Yamuna river. The activists say that Modi government has given a lot of assurances but has failed to clean up the Yamuna despite being in office around eight months. According to them, the ghats in Mathura and Vrindavan, used by millions of pilgrims, stink. “They are not bothered about the Yamuna, the lifeline of cities down the line from Haryana to Agra,” lamented Vrindavan’s Yamuna activist Madhu Mangal Shukla. On Feb 1, thousands of activists and devotees will demonstrate in New Delhi to draw the government’s attention to the neglect of the Yamuna. The protest will be led by Swami Vigyanacharya, who has been campaigning for saving the Yamuna in the Braj area. The national president of the Yamuna Rakshak Dal, Jai Krishan Das, told IANS that the polluted Yamuna was a threat to the lives of millions living downstream of Delhi. The Yamuna, flowing through Mathura, Vrindavan and Agra, has been reduced to a sewer canal these days, choked with piles of accumulated garbage and industrial effluents. The pollutants are mostly discharged by industrial clusters upstream of Vrindavan, Delhi and Haryana.

Mathura, 2014.10.25 (PTI, NDTV): Hundreds of pilgrims will take a holy dip in the Yamuna in Mathura on Saturday on the occasion of Yama Dvitiya. A number of woman pilgrims, along with their brothers, have arrived in Mathura to take a dip on the auspicious occasion to attain salvation. “Our dream of bathing in river Yamuna on this auspicious day with my sister would be fulfilled tomorrow,” said Sallu and his sister Jhabbo, who have come from Neemsar Misrik in Sitapur. 80-year-old Vinodini Mishra, who has come with her brother Nitin from Pratapgarh was equally elated as she has come to Mathura for the first time. “I have come with my brother as people say that bathing at Vishram Ghat on this auspicious occasion guarantees salvation,” she said. Narrating the legend, Goverdhan Peethadhiswar Krishna Das Kanchan Maharaj said pleased by the hospitality of his sister Yamuna, Yamraj blessed her saying if brothers and sisters together take a dip on this auspicious day (Yam Dwitiya) at Vishram Ghat then they would not be tortured by the messengers of Yamraj. They would also get salvation, he added. Meanwhile, district administration has also made elaborate security and safety arrangements for the pilgrims on the occasion. With Yamuna being badly polluted, fresh water has been discharged from Okhala Barrage to flush off polluted water in the river. “A section of flood company has been posted at the ghats with 20 divers to prevent any incident of drowning. Arrangement for round-the-clock power supply has been made and, generators would also be deployed to ensure uninterrupted power supply,” District Magistrate Rajesh Kumar said. Security has also been beefed up and police in plain clothes have been posted at Vishram Ghat, the main bathing point, he added. At the ghats, municipal board has made adequate arrangement for bathing. “Four camp offices have been set up at four bathing points, 50 boats and two motor boats would also be used for the occasion. Bathing area has not only been barricaded but from three sides it has been covered by boats,” said Manisha Gupta, Chairperson of Mathura Municipal Board. Also, eight tents have been set to be used as changing room for ladies.

New Delhi, 2014.10.15 (Neetu Chandra Sharma, India Today): Human activities have wiped out the native fish species of the Yamuna and alien fish species are now dominating the 950-km stretch of the river and affecting yields, according to a new study by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources. The “deliberate or accidental introduction” of the alien species was identified as a key component of the human induced biodiversity crisis that is harming native species and disturbing the ecosystem processes. The greater the incidence of introduction of alien fish species in a region, the higher the probability that some of them become invasive and cause ecological or economic damage, said the study done by the Exotic Fish Germplasm Section of the Fish Health Management Division. The entire stretch of the Yamuna is used for human activities, including fisheries through which the state department earns substantial revenue by leasing out stretches of the Yamuna to fishermen’s societies. The data was gathered from 15 landing sites covering major cities along the river. The data was generated every quarter from May 2011 to March 2013. The local fish species were grouped as Indian major carps (Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala) among others (see box). The river showed a blend of local and exotic species throughout the year. However, there was a predominance of alien invasive fishes at most sampling locations. The alien invasive fish species were identified as Cyprinus carpio Var. communis, C. carpio Var specularis among others (see box). A team of scientists – Atul K. Singh, Abubakar Ansari, Sharad C. Srivastava, Pankaj Verma and A. K. Pathak – collected data from the river that showed that 63 fish species present in its waters belonged to eight orders, 18 families, 39 genus and 63 species. Of the total of 63 recorded species, 53 were identified as local and 10 as alien invasive species. “The main reasons attributable to the decline in fishes are habitat destruction and fragmentation, water abstraction, industries and increased incidences of alien invasive species in particular,” the bureau said in its report.