The water scarcity in Delhi has often hit the headlines in media. Delhi has been waging an agonizing battle with its bordering states of UP and Haryana for the supply of water over the past many years. The Delhi government recently got water from Haryana after it threatened to file contempt petition in the court to procure water from it.

The news, that the bed of the dying river Yamuna has huge reservoir of water under it, will come as a pleasant surprise for the Delhiites. It has also come as a shot in arm for the environmentalists who have been protesting against the construction of residential flats for the 2010 Commonwealth Games on the Yamuna riverbed.

At the heart of the protest campaign is a study on water recharge potential of Yamuna banks conducted by physicist Prof Vikram Soni of National Physical Laboratory, Delhi. The study reveals that underneath the floodplains of the Yamuna lies De1hi's greatest water asset. The study, based on well-calculated science, also underlines the concern for the security of this water.

The study further says that these flood plains are a "goldmine of water" for the capital. The protesters argue that concretizing the riverbed with various development projects would cause Delhi a loss of Rs 10,000 crore every year. The loss can be avoided if the building projects are cancelled.

"According to the Master Plan, the riverbed area in Delhi is 97 sq km. The whole of it is course-grain sand up to a depth of 40 meters. This feature is the key to the riverbed's water recharge capability," Prof Vikram Soni said.

The entire Yamuna riverbed area can retain a whopping 2 million cubic meter of water. The good news is that the quality of sand allows almost half the quantity of the retained water to be extracted for non-invasive use or non-drinking purposes. The non-invasive water can feed the industry in Delhi releasing the pressure on the supply of drinking water for the ever-thirsty capital.

According to Prof. Soni, Delhi can obtain around one billion cubic meter of water every year from the underground aquifers of the floodplains. As per the market value Delhi shall have to shell out Rs.10, 000 crore to buy this amount of water. Imagine the savings when the cost of water would escalate over the time!
"The point is that the river is priceless. So with concretization, the city loses an unmatched asset," Soni said.

Here is a boon from Goddess Yamuna for the people of Delhi despite their vicious efforts to pollute and depredate it.