Sri Sri Ravi Shankar To Launch Clean Yamuna Campaign 

New Delhi, 07 February: Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar announced a three-month campaign to clean river Yamuna.

The campaign- 'My Yamuna, My Dilli'- launched here Sunday, is being organized in view of the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) latest report that the pollutant in the water of the Yamuna is so high that the river resembles a drain.

"We are responsible for the present condition of the Yamuna. Therefore, if we all get together to clean the river, the efforts will definitely bear fruit. Keeping this in mind, we are launching the 'My Yamuna, My Dilli' campaign here," Shankar, who is the founder of the Art of Living movement, told reporters at a press conference here.

According to the CPCB's 10-month-long monitoring of the Yamuna river at Nizamuddin, the water is unfit not just for drinking but even for bathing.

According to stipulated standards, water can be made potable with treatment if faecal coliform is less than 500 per 100ml. It is fit for bathing if the number is less than 5,000 per 100ml.

However, the lowest level of faecal coliform in the Yamuna, measured May 4, 2009, was 4.4 lakh per 100ml- almost 100 times above the level considered safe for bathing.

Originating in the lower Himalayas, the Yamuna is 1,376 km long. The 22-km-long stretch that passes through Delhi is one of the most polluted.

"Besides raising awareness on the Yamuna getting polluted and the need to save it, we will also launch cleanliness drives on the banks of the river all along its stretch. Several NGOs have promised their support in this campaign and we hope that the Delhi government will also join us in this effort," Shankar said.

Mobilization drives in school and colleges are also a part of the agenda, he said.