Unchecked pollution threatens Delhi’s potable water supply, warns environmental activist

By A Representative

Environmental activist Bhim Singh Rawat, Associate Coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People (SANDRP), has written to several senior officials of the Delhi government and pollution control bodies alerting them to serious water polluting activities along the Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) in Bawana, North West Delhi. The letter, sent on October 25, 2025, is addressed to the Delhi Ministers for Water, Health, and Environment, as well as officials from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Rawat’s letter, accompanied by photographs and GPS coordinates, documents multiple pollution sources along the Munak and Carrier Line Channel (CLC) canals, which carry potable water to the Haiderpur Water Treatment Plant in Shalimar Bagh. He reports that both canals are being contaminated through the disposal of discarded worship materials, dumping and segregation of solid waste, burning of electric wires, and signs of industrial waste disposal.

“The burning of electric wire is happening right on the edge and slope of the Munak Canal and the residual part, mostly black burnt ash, is finding its way into the canal,” Rawat wrote.

The letter further highlights alarming human and animal activities directly affecting the canal waters. “People in large numbers are taking bath and washing clothes in the canal using soaps and shampoos and disposing all sorts of solid waste including plastic and soiled clothes on the banks,” he said. Open defecation and cattle bathing in the canal were also observed, along with damaged canal plaster that could pose a breach risk. The canals, Rawat noted, are heavily infested with water hyacinth, indicating persistent upstream pollution.

Calling the situation “of utmost public importance,” Rawat warned that the contamination poses grave health risks and could compromise the functioning of the Haiderpur Water Treatment Plant. He urged authorities to take immediate corrective measures, including increased patrolling by civil defence volunteers, installation of CCTV cameras and lighting along canal banks, construction of barricades on bridges, and establishment of waste collection and religious offering disposal centres. He also suggested creating police checkpoints to stop illegal burning of industrial and electrical waste.

“I hope and believe you will understand the gravity of the matter and initiate remedial steps on urgent basis,” Rawat appealed in his communication, emphasizing the need for both urgent and long-term interventions to protect Delhi’s drinking water supply.

Comments

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra* Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By Rajendra Singh* The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

'Festive cheer fades': India’s housing market hits 17‑quarter slump, sales drop 16% in Q4 2025

By A Representative Housing sales across India’s nine major real estate markets fell to a 17‑quarter low in the October–December period of 2025, with overall absorption dropping 16% year‑on‑year to 98,019 units, according to NSE‑listed analytics firm PropEquity. This marks the weakest quarter since Q3 2021, despite the festive season that usually drives demand. On a sequential basis, sales slipped 2%, while new launches contracted by 4%.

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Search This Blog