India, July 16 -- It usually offends many that the Delhi stretch of one of India's mightiest and sacred rivers is often likened to an open sewer, but for the wrong reasons. Here, it dramatically narrows due to untrammelled encroachment and reeks of the overwhelming volume of the city's raw sewage - facts that should elicit anger and indignation, not the pride and piety that the Yamuna typically stirs. The latest assessment by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) showsthat 22 main drains - many of which wereoriginally stormwater channels - contribute76% more wastewater than previously estimatedto the Yamuna. Delhi's sewage treatment plants continue to operate below capacity. Many homes, small factories, and businesses are not connected to a sewer network that can carry their wastewater to treatment facilities. The much-delayed Rs.2,454-crore interceptor sewer project was designed to create trunk sewers to collect and treat wastewater beforeit reached the river. So far, however, it has prevented only 60% of the projected sewage volume. While the city's sewerage infrastructure needs rapid upgrades to keep pace with population growth and rising wastewater generation, protecting the Yamuna requires more than engineering solutions. Except during the monsoon season, the Yamuna carries very little water through Delhi. With most of its clean water diverted upstream, the river loses its natural flow by the time it reaches the city. The toxic wastewater Delhi discharges into it delivers the final blow. Restoring the Yamuna ultimately means treating it as a river rather than a drain. In addition to urgent upgradation of Delhi's sewerage infrastructure, a renegotiation between Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on water-sharing arrangements to leave enough water in the channel is also needed. Without environmental flows, no amount of wastewater treatment can bring the Yamuna back to life....