Chhath Puja: The Yamuna can be cleaned — but only if we abandon shortcuts

Written by Manoj Kumar Singh, Chandra Bhushan and Akhilesh Gautam

Every year, as Chhath Puja brings millions of devotees to the banks of the Yamuna, the issue of river pollution takes centre stage. This, in turn, revives a perennial question: Can the Yamuna — or any polluted river in India — be cleaned?

The answer is both yes and no. Yes, because many countries across the world have restored their rivers and kept them clean. The technology exists; India, too, can achieve it. No state or authority has succeeded in keeping a water body unpolluted over the long term. The failure lies not in capacity but in approach. We have been asking the wrong question. Instead of asking if rivers can be cleaned, we must ask how we can stop polluting them. The difference is subtle but crucial. If waste