Sri Sri Ravi Shankar joins river cleaning efforts in New Delhi

Art of Living guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar undertook the task of spreading awareness and sensitising people to the deteriorating condition of river Yamuna in New Delhi.

The weeklong cleanliness drive of the eight Yamuna banks, undertaken by Ravi Shankar and his organisation is aimed at pressurising the government to act speedily on cleaning up the river.

"We will all work together and pressurise the government to put a top on all the gutters flowing into the river. It is a not a project which will take 10-20 years, it can be done in 1-2 years," he said.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB), the water of the River Yamuna is unfit not just for drinking but also for bathing and washing.

Experts say Yamuna River is on its deathbed despite billions of rupees being spent by the government to clean it.

A major pollutant of Yamuna is Delhi. The city alone contributes 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage falling into the river.

A major blame for the pollution of the river has been put on the illegal settlements along the banks.

Some 350,000 people live in the 62,000 shanties that have come up on the riverbed and its embankment.

Rapid urbanisation of Delhi has further compounded the pressure on the sewerage system.