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What were once India’s life-giving sources of fresh water have now become a breeding ground for deadly diseases. There are millions of tonnes of sewage dumped into India’s rivers daily, putting at risk the lives of countless number of people, said activists who were deeply concerned at the current state of the river Yamuna.

The Central Pollution Control Board claimed around 70 percent of Yamuna’s pollution is human excrement.

Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment, said “We talk a lot about industrial pollution of our rivers, but sewage pollution is a big problem”.

“What is happening to the Yamuna is reflective of what is happening in almost every river in India. The Yamuna is dead,” she went on to say, “We just haven’t officially cremated it yet”.

The river Ganga is also in a similar state. At the Ardh-Kumbha Mela, held between Jan-Feb this year, many Hindu Saints and Holy men refused to bathe in the river as the river was too polluted.

Poor water quality due to the lack of sewage facilities are blamed for most of India's child mortalities, numbering a total of 2 million children per year, according to a recent study by the World Health Organization.

According to a study conducted by the World Bank, India’s supply of fresh water may soon become scarce, due to climate changes.

“Skirmishes are beginning to occur in parts of India where farmers have been protesting over rights to more water” said Narain.

An energy and climate change expert of Greenpeace, India, Srinivas Krishnaswamy stated, “The government put in place these action plans two decades ago and now the pollution in the rivers are worse.”

“It's a national challenge,” says Suresh Babu, of the CSE. Currently the ten most expensive river clean-up sites in India have become so polluted that they have now exceeded the level for safe bathing.