The march to save the Yamuna started March 2 from Sangam - the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna - in Allahabad to Delhi.

 After leaving Agra Saturday, the march entered Braj dham, mobilising support from Sri Krishna devotees and villagers along the river bank.

 Ramesh Baba, the high priest and patriarch of Barsana, at whose initiative the march was started, accused central leaders and other politicians for ignoring the issue for far too long.

 "If the Yamuna dies, the Braj sanskriti (culture), the Sri Krishna bhakti (devotion) and Hindu religion would also suffer. It is no longer a local or a regional issue, but a national one. The rivers of India have to be saved," he told the marchers.

The march is attracting attention and several civil society groups have now joined the campaign march which is scheduled to reach New Delhi by April 15.

A large number of NRIs have joined the march. "Many groups in the US were supporting the cause, and writing letters to the president (Pratibha Patil) and the prime minister (Manmohan Singh)," according to the rally organisers.

The Yamuna Bachao marchers reached Mathura Monday morning.

"If the central government refused to accept our demands, we will open the gates and damage the upstream barrages on Yamuna," Baba Jai Krishan Das, convener of the march, announced at a rally in Mathura Monday evening.