Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganga in northern India. It originates from the Yamunotri glacier at a height of 6,387 m on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks (38° 59′ N 78° 27′ E) in the lower Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It travels a total length of 1,376 km by crossing several states, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and has a mixing of drainage system of 366,233 km2 before merging with the Ganga at Allahabad i.e., a total of 40.2 % of the entire Ganga basin. The river accounts for more than 70 % of Delhi’s water supplies and about 57 million people depend on river water for their daily usage (CPCB 2006)

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Spanning across the length of 1376 km and crossing several states of India, the Yamuna river has passed by the country's capital New Delhi. Known as the lifeline of the city of Delhi, the river has suffered the worst down the stream due to untreated sewage, industrial effluents, the dumping of garbage, dead bodies, immersion of idols, temple wastes etc. The 20 kilometers stretch of river in the capital has one of the highest levels of industrial pollution in the country. As per a recent report , the level of industrial pollution in Yamuna is nearly 13 times more than the permissible limit. The river seems to be choked with the voluminous toxic froth that looks icebergs. This often proves hindrance to the local boatmen finding their way down the river. About hundred sewage drains of Delhi are pouring their wastes in the river. The polluted water of the river is also causing harm to the cattle and vegetables grown on the riverside. However, religiosity knows no law as seen in the images of people dipping themselves and praying to God, standing in knee-deep water of the river on the eve of Chhat festival.