“Yamuna Ji is in a coma” — when a Delhi newspaper confirmed zero percent oxygen at 16 sampling locations, it forced a reckoning. Technical Session II on reviving the Yamuna zooms out from engineering specifics to the civilisational and systemic framing of the crisis, examining how millennia of harmonious river civilisation gave way to the industrial-era demand spiral that now leaves the river ecologically lifeless.
Speakers argue that India built its civilisation around river systems — for food, domestic use, and spiritual sustenance — but development imposed exponentially growing demands without any corresponding ethic of stewardship. The session stresses that water management cannot succeed without measurement: the basic principle “if you don’t measure, you cannot manage” has been violated for decades on the Yamuna.
Beyond technical fixes, this session calls for a fundamental shift in how India treats its sacred rivers — not as waste disposal infrastructure, but as living entities with inherent rights and ecological identities that must be constitutionally protected. A powerful companion to Session I.

About the speaker:
Prof. A.K. Gosain is a senior IIT Delhi faculty member specializing in hydrology, climate change, and sustainable water-resource planning. He has shaped national water policy and advanced scientific frameworks for river basin management across India.

Shree Ranjeet Chaturvedi (Yamuna Putra) is the Founder of the Aatma Nirbhar Society, dedicated to service, environmental action, and community empowerment. His work blends cultural rootedness with innovative approaches to sustainable development.

Sensei Raj is a global sustainability advocate leading “One Planet. One Humanity” and Vision India 2032. He champions ESG, climate action, human rights, planetary stewardship, and peace initiatives worldwide.

Neera Misra is a researcher of Vedic and Mahabharata-era history and culture. She is the Founder Trustee of Draupadi Dream Trust, working to preserve and promote India’s ancient heritage.