![Najafgarh Drain at Kakrola Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Najafgarh_Drain_at_Kakrola_Bridge.jpg)
The Najafgarh drain or Najafgarh nalah (''nalah'' in Hindi means rivulet or storm water drain), which also acts as
Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary
Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary ''(proposed)'' and wetland ecosystem is composed of the wetland ecosystem and wildlife habitat on several kilometres of the Najafgarh drain or nullah which passes through rural southwest Delhi in India's capital t ...
, is another name for the northernmost end of
River Sahibi, which continues its flow through
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, where it is channelized, and then flows into the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
. Within Delhi, due to its channelization for
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
purposes, it is now erroneously called "Najafgarh drain" or "Najafgarh nullah." It gets this name from the once famous and huge
Najafgarh Jheel (lake) near the town of
Najafgarh
Najafgarh is a town in the South West Delhi district of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is one of the three subdivisions of the Southwest Delhi district. Najafgarh is located in south western part of Delhi sharing its territory wi ...
in southwest Delhi and within urbanized Delhi. It is the Indian capital’s most polluted water body due to direct inflow of untreated sewage from surrounding populated areas. A January 2005 report by the Central Pollution Control Board classifies this drain, with 13 other highly polluted wetlands, under category ‘‘D’’ for assessing the water quality of wetlands in wildlife habitats.
This drain was widened as a flood control drain linking the Najafgarh lake to the river
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
, thus completely draining the once huge and ecologically rich Najafgarh Lake, famous for its wetland ecosystem, waterbirds and wildlife.
Classification and naming
Within the
National Capital Territory of Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
(NCT), this channelized waterway—misclassified, misnamed as a mere drain (''Najafgarh drain or nullah'')--is, in fact, the continuation of the
Sahibi River and an elongation of the
Najafgarh jheel Lake. During the 1960s and before, the rain-fed Sahibi River, which originates in the
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
District of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
, passing through
Alwar
Alwar (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (India), National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar district, Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. ...
District in Rajasthan and
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
District in
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, entered Delhi near
Dhansa and spilled its overflow in the
Najafgarh Lake basin. This overflow created a seasonal lake; an area of more than was submerged in some seasons. This water then continued to flow on the other side, forming a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the
River Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
. In the following decades, this Sahibi River flow reaching the Dhansa regulators was channelized by digging out a wide drain and connecting it directly to the River Yamuna. This channelization also completely drained off the seasonal Najafgarh Jheel that had formed there previously. The channelized drain from Dhansa regulators to Keshopur Bus Depot on Outer Ring Road is wide with thick and high embankments. A vast amount of water is retained in this widened drain by closing the Kakrola regulators under Najafgarh Road to recharge the local ground watertable; hence it acts like an elongated lake as well.
Bird sanctuary and wetland
Wetland ecosystem and wildlife habitat important to migratory waterbirds and local wildlife
The drain has been much widened over the years to drain all the water which in earlier decades used to collect in the Nagafgarh Jheel basin; this was supposedly done to remove the threat of flooding in Delhi and now the drain itself acts as an elongated water body or lake with trees planted on both its embankments with an inspection road running on one embankment. During the winter months it attracts vast numbers of migratory birds and also supports local wildlife year-round. Due to the rich wildlife observed in and around the less polluted stretch of the drain outside of congested populated areas, it has been proposed as a bird sanctuary for Delhi.
The
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
and
wildlife habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
on several kilometers of less polluted Najafgarh drain in rural Delhi before entering the main city including the former ''Najafgarh lake'' or ''Najafgarh jheel'' area is very important habitat to
migratory waterbirds as well as local
wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
and has been earmarked to be declared a
bird sanctuary for Delhi. The area came to be recognized as an important wildlife habitat after a local naturalist studying the area during 1986–88 called attention to it recommending it to be conserved as a bird sanctuary after which the Delhi wildlife department posted 16 guards in the area to control illegal bird hunters including diplomats from various international embassies located in Delhi, India's capital. Delhi Administration officials were tasked with declaring about stretch of the drain in rural Delhi, including where it passes through the core area of the now drained Najafgarh Lake, "protected" under the "Wildlife Act" after Lt.-Governor of Delhi Mr. H.L. Kapur was invited to the area for touring the site where he also heard accounts of local villagers about the rampant illegal hunting of waterbirds that went on here every year. The existing staff of the Flood Control and Irrigation Department numbering about 40 were also given the additional responsibility of protecting the wildlife on and around the drain.
Forested embankments
The Najafgarh drain has been much widened over the past decades and now has thick mud embankments on both its sides to channel the waters and protect Delhi from floods, these embankments have been planted with thick forest cover which serve as a much needed habitat for remnant local wildlife occurring in nearby and surrounding farmlands including common foxes, jackals, hares, wild cats, nilgai, porcupines and various reptiles and snakes including the dreaded cobras. Many local birds including waterbirds roost and nest in these trees.
Sections of the forested embankments of Najafgarh drain are currently classified as and are featured in
Protected Forests
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
and Recorded Forests (Notified Forest Areas in Delhi) as "M. P. Green area Najafgarh Drain (Tagore garden)", "Afforestation M.P.Green Area Najafgarh Drain (DDA)" and "
Chhawla or Najafgarh drain city forest (29.64 Acre)".
Embankment road
There is a well kept drivable inspection road maintained by Irrigation and Flood Control Department of Delhi on one of the drains embankment throughout its entire length of several kilometers running through rural Delhi from Dhansa regulators at the southwest border of Delhi with the state of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
to where the drain crosses under the
outer ring road at
Keshopur bus depot near the Najafgarh road between the housing colonies of
Vikaspuri
Vikaspuri is an MIG residential area in West Delhi, India. It is home to a few notable figures.
Notable people
* Virat Kohli, Former Captain of Indian Cricket Team
* Daler Mehndi, singer
* Shikhar Dhawan, cricketer
* Millind Gaba, singer
* Aa ...
and
Tilak Nagar in New Delhi.
Bird-watchers and nature-lovers can view the wildlife and waterbirds occurring on the drain from vehicles by driving on this road and stopping intermittently and going down to the waters edge. As the width of the drain is limited the flocks of waterfowl and other waterbirds in the drain can be easily observed from the drain's edges and this same fact makes the birds much more vulnerable to hunting as they remain in easy reach of the poacher's shotguns and the nets and traps set for them by local villagers and professional trappers.
Recharging, irrigation
The continuous widening of the Najafgarh drain since the 1960s led to the complete draining of the once vast and rich Najafgarh lake, jheel or marsh which directly affected the ground water table in the entire surrounding region as all the rain water after yearly monsoons that used to collect in the vast lake basin in previous years now ran off swiftly through the widened drain into river
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
in which it outfalls, this has been affecting the entire climate of the region as well making the region more arid and creating water shortages for the purpose of irrigation or human consumption for the people of Delhi and surrounding regions.
Currently the drain is so wide and deep that it acts as an elongated lake in its own right and can hold and store a lot of rain water which can be regulated through regulators built into it at intervals. Maintaining of proper water-level in the drain and storage of rainwater in it during the summer months leads to recharging of ground
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
which the surrounding farmers find much helpful as they access the high water table though
tube wells dug on their farmlands though which they pump water to irrigate their crops. Farmers owning farmlands bordering the drain in
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
directly use pipes and hoses to pump water from the drain for irrigation.
Fishing
The relatively cleaner portion of the drain in rural southwest Delhi before it enters densely populated and badly polluted area at
Vikaspuri
Vikaspuri is an MIG residential area in West Delhi, India. It is home to a few notable figures.
Notable people
* Virat Kohli, Former Captain of Indian Cricket Team
* Daler Mehndi, singer
* Shikhar Dhawan, cricketer
* Millind Gaba, singer
* Aa ...
also attracts some small scale local village fishermen, occasionally one can be seen casting his line or net in the waters or floating on a black inflated truck tire tube spreading his fishing net across the breadth of the drain. A fishing license is needed to catch fish legally in Delhi waters.
Water hyacinth overgrowth
The
water hyacinth
''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.[invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...]
of fast growing floating plants completely clogs the open water surface of the drain in many areas annually and lot of funds and labour is employed by the flood control department to clear it some what to keep the water flow uninterrupted. The removing of the water hyacinth by laborers also opens up the water surface for birds and migratory waterfowl that take refuge here every winter.
Covering for development
There is a development scheme in the works where Najafgarh drain will be covered by the Flood Department from
Vijay Nagar, Delhi to
Hakikat Nagar and on the covered area shops will be built.
Najafgarh lake, marsh or jheel
''Najafgarh lake'', ''Najafgarh marsh'' or ''Najafgarh jheel'' (Jheel in Hindi means a lake) used to be a vast lake in the south west of Delhi in India near the town of
Najafgarh
Najafgarh is a town in the South West Delhi district of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is one of the three subdivisions of the Southwest Delhi district. Najafgarh is located in south western part of Delhi sharing its territory wi ...
from which it takes its name, it was connected to the river
Yamuna
The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...
by a natural shallow nullah or drain called the Najafgarh nullah. However, after the 1960s the Flood Control Department of Delhi kept widening the Najafgarh drain in the pretext of saving Delhi from floods and eventually quickly drained the once huge and ecologically rich Najafgarh lake completely. Rainwater accumulating in the Najafgarh lake or jheel basin had been recorded to have occupied more than 300 square kilometers in many years before its unfortunate draining.
However, with recent advances in ecological understanding it has become clear that draining of this vast lake affected the entire climate of this important region that is India's capital territory and its neighborhood. The draining of the lake completely also caused the watertable in the entire area to go down and the area becoming arid. There have been some plans since to at least resurrect a much smaller lake in the area. Most of the Najafgarh jheel basin lands have increased many folds in their value owing to them coming within Delhi, India's capital territory and are under ownership of farmers who may want to make a fast buck selling them to developers who want to convert the former lake basin into housing complexes as has already been happening with major housing colonies coming up in the region. If Najafgarh drain, which was built to drain the original Najafgarh lake or jheel, ever breaches its wide embankments it will flood these developed lands owing to them spread all over the former low lying jheel or lake basin.
Before draining, a vast lake
Before the unfortunate complete draining of this lake in the 1960s by widening of the Najafgarh drain by the Flood control and irrigation department of Delhi the lake in many years filled up a depression more than in rural Delhi, It had an extremely rich wetland ecosystem forming a refuge for vast quantities of waterbirds and local wildlife. The lake was one of the last habitats of the famed and endangered Siberian Crane which has all but vanished from the Indian subcontinent now. Till before independence many British colonial Officers and dignitaries came in large parties for waterfowl hunting every season.
[ irdwatching Articles from 1961-70 from Najafgarh lake by Usha Ganguli in "''Newsletter for Birdwatchers''" edited by Zafar Futehally]]
See also
*
Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary
Najafgarh drain bird sanctuary ''(proposed)'' and wetland ecosystem is composed of the wetland ecosystem and wildlife habitat on several kilometres of the Najafgarh drain or nullah which passes through rural southwest Delhi in India's capital t ...
, Delhi
* Nearby
Najafgarh lake or Najafgarh jheel (Now completely drained by Najafgarh drain)
*
Najafgarh
Najafgarh is a town in the South West Delhi district of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is one of the three subdivisions of the Southwest Delhi district. Najafgarh is located in south western part of Delhi sharing its territory wi ...
town, Delhi
*
National Zoological Park Delhi
The National Zoological Park (originally Delhi Zoo) is a zoo in New Delhi, India. A 16th-century citadel, a sprawling green island and a motley collection of animals and birds, all in the middle of a burgeoning urban Delhi.
The zoo can be see ...
*
Sultanpur National Park
Sultanpur National Park (Ramsar site )(formerly Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) is located at Sultanpur village on Gurugram-Jhajjar highway, 15 km from Gurugram, Haryana and 50 km from Delhi in India. This covers approximately 142.52 hec ...
, bordering Delhi in adjoining
Gurgaon District
Gurgaon district, officially known as Gurugram district, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The city of Gurgaon is the administrative headquarters of the district. The population is 1,514,432. It is one of the southern dist ...
,
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
*
Okhla Sanctuary, bordering Delhi in adjoining
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
*
Bhalswa horseshoe lake, Northwest, Delhi
References
Further reading
DRAFT MAP ZONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN PLANNING ZONE- 'L'.SEWAGE PROJECTS to Prevent Untreated Sewage 29 August 2011, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Press Information Bureau, India
Flood Problem due to Sahibi River, Department of Irrigation and Flood Control, Government of NCT of Delhi, India.WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT IN NAJAFGARH DRAINAGE BASIN – KEY TO WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN RIVER YAMUNA by Asit Nema of Foundation for Greentech Environmental Systems1 and Dr. Lalit Agrawal of Tokyo Engineering Consultants, Japan2
FLOOD CONTROL - The National Capital Territory of Delhi‘Part of Najafgarh drain to be covered’ 12 September 2009, The Hindu
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110516053542/http://www.haryana-online.com/Fauna/Birds/peter_jackson.htm‘Reviving old ponds way out of water woes’ 9 August 2003, The Indian Express
Action plans on polluted areas in Delhi soon GN BUREAU, NEW DELHI, MARCH 17, 2010, Governance Now
Proposal for ground water recharge in National Capital Region (NCR) by Dr. S. K. Sharma, Ground water expertDelhi's Watery Woesby Arun Kumar Singh
Birds are back at Najafgarh Jheel 19 08 2010, Delhi Edition, Hindustan Times
No more water-logging at airport with new drain in place New Delhi, 17 December 2009, The Hindu
Walls to be constructed around Najafgarh drain New Delhi, 29 December 2006, Hindustan Times
Groundwater to be recharged at Najafgarh, Mungeshwar drains 10 March 2007, The Indian Express
Gurgaon polluting Najafgarh drain, draws Minister's ire by Rajesh Kumar, New Delhi, 27/07/2006,
The Pioneer (Indian newspaper), The Pioneer
Winged visitors are back at Najafgarh Lake New Delhi, 03/11/2011, Hindustan Times. Also se
CHAPTER J.- DESCRIPTIVE· pages from the Gazeteers, Delhi, 1912URBAN FLOODING AND ITS MANAGEMENT 2006. India Disaster Management Congress.IIPA Campus, IP Estate, Near ITO Road, New Delhi. National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India
ACTION PLAN, ABATEMENT OF POLLUTION IN CRITICALLY POLLUTED AREA OF NAJAFGARH DRAN BASIN INCLUDING OKHLA, NARAINA, ANAND PARBAT AND WAZIRPUR INDL AREAS, DELHI POLLUTION CONTROL COMMITTEE, 4th Floor, ISBT Building, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-6, March, 2011BLUE DELHI DECLARATION, White Paper on: Aiming for Sustainability and Self Sufficiency in Delhi Water Management – Evaluating Delhi’s Current Water Assets vis a vis their UtilisationURBAN FLOODING DEMOGRAPHY AND URBANIZATION by Shashikant Nishant Sharmasnsharma.phd
tmail
otom 11/1/2010, SCHOOL OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE, Delhi
Biodegradation of wastewater of Najafgarh drain, Delhi using autochthonous microbial consortia : a laboratory study.by Sharma G, Mehra NK, Kumar R. Source Limnology Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi-1 10 007, India.
A search for archived News Articles on Najafgarh Drain on the India Envirinmental Portal websiteCity to get its 1st bird sanctuary 15/02/2005,
Asian Age (New Delhi)
New camp to jazz up tourism in city soon 19 Apr 2010, Asian Age (New Delhi)
New Delhi, 30 September 2007, Tribune News Service, The Tiribune, Chandigarh
Proposal for groundwater recharge in National Capital Region - A report by SK Sharma and Green Systems Submitted by samir nazareth on 22 April 2011, India waterportal - Safe, sustainable water for all
External links
RECORDED FORESTS (NOTIFIED FOREST AREAS IN DELHI) Forest Department, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
Tourism Infrastructure Tourism department, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
Irrigation & Flood Control Department Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
Plantation/Greening of Delhi Department of Environment, Government of NCT of Delhi, India
facebook Topic: Delhi - Najafgarh Drain Birdwatching Reportfacebook: Checklist of the Birds of the Najafgarh Jheel Region - Including adjoining areas of Dhansa Barrage and the Najafgarh Drain in Delhi by Sajit P. Mohanan
A Search for: Najafgarh drain on the Google group "delhibirdpix"U-turn: Haryana will identify Najafgarh lake as wetland, TNN, Times of India, Jan 7, 2017
{{coord, 28, 31, N, 76, 36, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki
Drainage canals
Wildlife sanctuaries in Delhi
Rivers of Haryana
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Rivers of Delhi
Tributaries of the Yamuna River
Yamuna River
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