Sri Sri Ravi Shankar launches 'Clean River Yamuna' campaign

New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): Art of Living Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has launched the 'Clean River Yamuna' campaign to create awareness among people to restore the river"s past glory.

At the launching of the seven-month long 'My Yamuna, My Dilli' campaign to clean the river, he said that the responsibility for cleaning up the Yamuna lies with the people it nurtures.

"We should have a sense of belongingness towards our River Yamuna. If we have a belief that both Yamuna and Delhi belong to us, only then we will not throw garbage in it and only then we would make people aware on this," he added.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB), the water of the River Yamuna is unfit not just for drinking but also for bathing and washing.

Experts say Yamuna River is on its deathbed despite billions of rupees being spent by the government to clean it.

A major pollutant of Yamuna is Delhi. The city alone contributes 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage falling into the river.

A major blame for the pollution of the river has been put on the illegal settlements along the banks.

Some 350,000 people live in the 62,000 shanties that have come up on the riverbed and its embankment.

Rapid urbanisation of Delhi has further compounded the pressure on the sewerage system. (ANI)