Vivek Dixit (left), a senior scientist at AIIMS, has been cleaning the ghats of Yamuna for the last six years. (Image credit: Qamar Sibtain)

Every weekend, a group of professionals - doctors, engineers, and scientists - assemble at the banks of Yamuna river near the ITO, armed with brooms and shovels for cleaning up the waste strewn along the ghat.

They know they can't make the water potable but for the last six years, they are working to create awareness about keeping the Yamuna clean.

"We cannot always rely on government agencies who comprise less than one percent of the population. But we believe that if the larger public hits the ground, we can send a strong message. Yamuna is the lifeline of Delhi and the most affected resource we have. What better place to chose," says Vivek Dixit, senior scientist, department of orthopaedics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

What started as a 'Swacha Yamuna Abhiyan', a Facebook page with 30 members, has now become a weekly feature with active participation from a group of 20-30 people.

These group of people are from a community of 600 professionals from different walks of life.

"In the beginning we thought people will mock us and term it as a publicity stunt. It took us many months of convincing ourselves before we picked up the brooms," says Dr Rishi Solanki, senior forensic expert at Lady Hardinge Hospital.

The garbage gathered by the group, is taken away by a pick up vehicle from the local municipality for disposal at the nearest dumping site. To ensure the litter doesn't reappear, the group has roped in a few local divers to keep an eye on those who err.

"Since everyone can't be present all the time, we have a group volunteering each week," informs Mayadhar Barik, junior scientist, nuclear medicine department, AIIMS.

Earlier, the group used to select the ghats to be cleaned in no particular order. But now they have fixed up an area and stick to it for better results.