Ravinder Kumar walks through ankle-deep sludge every morning just to step out of his home in northwest Delhi’s Sharma Enclave. But inside his small brick house, there is often no water at all. The 55-year-old father of three twists his plastic taps repeatedly, hoping for a trickle that rarely comes.
“Water comes once every three days, and even then, clean water lasts barely an hour,” Kumar said. “Sometimes the water is black. We bathe once in four or five days.”
Kumar is among millions of residents in India’s capital who have endured days of water shortages after soaring ammonia levels in the Yamuna River forced the shutdown of six out of Delhi’s nine major water treatment plants last week. The river, considered sacred by millions, has become so polluted that water drawn from it has turned too toxic to treat.
Delhi Water Board officials said 43 neighbourhoods, home to nearly two million people, were affected by the shutdowns. While authorities claimed water supply was restored within two days, residents across several areas said the reality on the ground told a different story.
In Raghubir Nagar, west Delhi, residents said they were left without water for up to five consecutive days. When supplies resumed, the water was dirty and foul-smelling, forcing families to wash clothes and utensils with what they described as “toxic” water.
CNN contacted resident welfare associations in all affected neighbourhoods. Of those that responded, several said they had received no water for days, while others reported severely reduced pressure and erratic supply timings.
When reporters visited Sharma Enclave, residents were relying on stored water collected during a brief window when taps flowed earlier in the week. The water was yellowish and smelled of rotten eggs. Many said fresh supply would not arrive for days, as water tankers now rotate through the area only once every three days.
“Everyone’s health is deteriorating,” said Shashi Bala, a resident of the colony. “Everything around us is dirty.”
The Yamuna flows more than 1,300 kilometres from Himalayan glaciers through several Indian states. Delhi itself was designed around the river in the 17th century, when its waters fed canals that cooled royal palaces and sustained the city.
Today, the river provides nearly 40% of Delhi’s water supply. Yet decades of unchecked industrial discharge and untreated sewage have transformed large stretches of it into what environmental experts describe as a “septic drain.”
Although only about 2% of the Yamuna’s length passes through Delhi, government monitoring data shows the city contributes roughly 76% of the river’s total pollution load. Dissolved oxygen levels frequently drop to zero, suffocating aquatic life and leaving behind thick layers of toxic white foam.
On January 25, activists gathered along the riverbanks to clean up waste. Wearing protective gear, they pulled out discarded clothes, plastic waste and submerged religious idols from the murky water. The air was heavy with pungent fumes as volunteers waded through the foam.
“Delhi became a city because the Yamuna flowed,” said activist Pankaj Kumar. “Removing trash won’t fix industrial toxins. We have finished this river.”
The water emergency has exposed deeper structural problems in Delhi’s rapid and often unplanned urban expansion. Millions live in unauthorized colonies without proper pipelines, drainage or sewage treatment. Waste seeps into the soil, contaminating groundwater reserves that many poorer communities depend on.
In Sharma Colony, clogged drains and poor construction management have left narrow lanes flooded with stagnant wastewater. Bala said her home remained inundated for six months, leaving her family frequently ill. She stopped stepping outside after injuring herself on debris hidden under the murky water.
“One of my sons is disabled,” she said. “We are all stressed.”
When water finally returned to her taps earlier this week, it was visibly dirty. She used it anyway, despite skin irritation, because clothes had piled up unwashed for days. Buying bottled water was not an option. The containers were too heavy to carry, and her son could not help.
“My neighbours saved us,” she said. “Otherwise, we would have had no drinking water.”
Promises, plans and long delays
The Delhi Water Board said less than 1% of areas reported temporary quality issues, blaming illegal booster pumps and unauthorized connections for pipeline disruptions. Officials said they were working to restore normal supply, though residents remain sceptical.
Delhi’s water problems are not new. In 1993, the government launched the Yamuna Action Plan to overhaul sewage treatment and clean the river. More than three decades and billions of rupees later, experts say the river remains dangerously polluted.
Last week, the Delhi government announced plans to nearly double sewage treatment capacity and extend sewage networks to all unauthorized colonies by 2028. Authorities say this is essential to prevent untreated waste from entering the Yamuna and groundwater systems.
For residents like Raja Kamat in Raghubir Nagar, such promises feel distant. She said water was unavailable for five days straight. When it arrived, it was black and flowed for barely 30 minutes a day.
Living on a modest government pension, she cannot afford regular bottled water and is forced to ration every drop. Her neighbour, Bhagwanti, said the system is collapsing around them.
“There is no facility for clean water,” the 70-year-old said. “They don’t care if you live or die.”
As Delhi battles yet another water crisis, the choking Yamuna stands as a stark reminder of the cost of neglect, mismanagement and unchecked pollution a sacred river turned toxic, and a city left thirsty in its shadow.