(29 Oct 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++PART MUTE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Delhi – 29 October 2024
1. Aerial shot of polluted Yamuna river, one of India’s most sacred rivers, covered with white toxic foam, caused in part by pollutants discharged from industries around the city ++MUTE++
2. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Shishupal Kumar, worker:
++STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT, OVERLAID WITH SHOTS OF THE RIVER++
“This is Delhi’s Yamuna River. People come here from far off places to perform religious rituals. The river has become completely dirty. It is full of chemicals. It looks as if snowfall has happened here, like it happens on mountains.”
3. Man in boat rowing near the banks of the polluted Yamuna River
4. Wide of India Gate, an iconic war memorial, partially visible under the layer of polluted air, people jogging
5. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Imran Khan, student:
++STARTS ON PREVIOUS SHOT, OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 6, 7 AND 8++
“Delhi is India’s capital and it is so polluted that we can’t breathe properly here. People are here for jogging and they are facing problems too. Our environment should be cleaner than this. Otherwise this is going to cause breathing issues and diseases. It is very polluted.”
6. People jogging in polluted air
7. Man doing yoga
8. Various of buildings enveloped in pollution with low visibility
STORYLINE:
One of India’s most sacred rivers, the Yamuna in New Delhi, is covered with white toxic foam, with vast sections frothing as a result of pollutants discharged from industries around the city.
The pollution poses a severe health threat to residents since the river provides more than half of the Indian capital’s water.
New Delhi also has some of the world’s most polluted air every year, and the current festival season is exacerbating the situation.
On Tuesday, the air-quality index deteriorated to “a very poor” reading of 273, 18 times more than the World Health Organization’s quality guidelines.
The tiny PM 2.5 particulate matter can enter deep into the lungs and cause diseases.
Still, Hindu devotees have not given up their religious practices at the Yamuna. On Tuesday morning, a young couple was among a group that visited the river bank, had a dip, and then left.
Imran Khan, a student, said one can’t breathe properly in Delhi’s polluted air.
"People are here for jogging, and they are facing problems, too. Our environment should be cleaner," he said.
Shishupal Kumar, a contract worker, said people visit the river from far-off places to perform religious rituals.
"The river has become completely dirty. It is full of chemicals. It looks like snowfall has happened here, like it happens on mountains," Kumar said.
The 1,376-kilometer (855-mile) Yamuna is one of the holiest rivers for Hindus. It is also among the most polluted in the world.
Dangerously unhealthy waterways are a concern for many, especially with pollution expected to worsen during the upcoming Chhath Puja, a Hindu festival.
The river has become dirtier over the years as sewage, farm pesticides and industrial effluents flow into the waterway despite laws against polluting and authorities setting up dozens of sewage treatment plants.
The New Delhi government said officials were using defoamers to tackle the problem.
Authorities have deployed dozens of motorboats to disperse the toxic foam and erected bamboo barricades to keep people away from the river banks.
The officials worry that thousands of Hindu devotees next month will stand knee-deep in its frothy, toxic waters, sometimes even immersing themselves in a holy dip to mark Chhath Puja.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c7624abebec0499990cd00a8ae8079a4
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in November 3, 2024, 12:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
