The Perils of the Yamuna in the 1860s

The title of this post, ‘The Perils of the Yamuna’, might make you think about the chemical effluents dumped into Delhi’s river, which have damaged its biodiversity, or perhaps the flooding caused by torrential downpours. However, as the sketch above shows, the dangers associated with the Yamuna in the 19th century were quite different.

The sketch, showing a bather fighting off a snake with a lathi (long stick) in Delhi's Yamuna river, was published in The Illustrated London News in 1864. The accompanying text reveals that large, non-venomous water snakes, sometimes reaching up to 6 feet in length, would often make their way into the Yamuna from canals and drains connected to it. As shown in the picture, Delhi’s intrepid bathers came prepared with their lathis, expecting such encounters from time to time. The Delhi Gazetteer of 1912 corroborates this, noting that the most common water snake in the Yamuna was the chequered water snake, likely the same as the one depicted in the sketch.

Unlike the 19th century, today’s threats to the Yamuna are far more insidious. Industrial waste and untreated sewage have severely harmed the river’s health. Despite promises to restore its ecological balance, successive governments have failed to deliver significant improvements. Ultimately, restoring the Yamuna is essential—not just for the people of Delhi, but also for the wildlife that once thrived in its waters.

See you next Friday.