New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- As the Yamuna continues to choke under sewage and industrial waste, Delhi is preparing to install 41 real-time online monitoring stations across the river and its major drains by March, a move that officials say will, for the first time, allow pollution spikes to be tracked as they happen.

The contract to set up 41 OLMS is likely to be awarded by the end of the month and the stations operationalised by March this year, officials aware of the matter said.

At present, Delhi does not have any system to monitor water quality in the Yamuna on a real-time basis. Instead, samples are collected once a month from eight locations on the river and from major drains, tested in laboratories, and published later on the Delhi Pol...