new waterkeepers
Waterkeepers
India
By Cate White, Waterkeeper Alliance | Photos by Scott Edwards
The sacred Yamuna River doesn’t just absorb the sins of pilgrims; it absorbs nearly 900 million gallons a day of untreated sewage and industrial waste. At the river’s edge in the heart of New Delhi methane rises from the dark bottom, stirred by a young man named Raju who scavenges coins thrown from the overhead bridge for luck. A thick stench hangs in the air. Raju emerges with coins in hand. For Raju it is a good life. He prides himself on his ability to find fortune in the murky water — nearly 100 rupees a day, he says, twice the daily minimum wage in India.
