The mission of cleaning up the Ganga will remain incomplete without first cleaning the Yamuna - the biggest contributor of
pollutants into the Ganga
Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi promised people of Varanasi that he will make the Ganga pollution-free, like the Sabarmati
in Gujarat.
But Modi probably neglected the fact that the mission of cleaning up the Ganga will remain incomplete without first cleaning the
Yamuna which is the biggest contributor of pollutants into the Ganga.
Just like the Ganga internationally projects the religious heritage of India, the Yamuna forms the backdrop of the Taj Mahal in
Agra which is the tourism ambassador of India.
Both rivers have their importance but Yamuna holds a great importance to four states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and
Haryana, where its water are the lifeline of millions of people.
However, once the river passes through Delhi, it becomes so infested with sewage that by the time it reaches Agra, it is nothing
but a huge sewage drain, full of industrial chemicals dumped by factories in Delhi, Haryana and even Mathura.