At sunrise, 67-year-old Ramu Gupta slings a blue bag over his shoulder and makes his way to the Yamuna River in Delhi, hoping to uncover hidden wealth. He is one of hundreds of gotakhors — local divers — who scour the riverbed daily for coins, trinkets, old bottles, and bits of scrap metal and wood, which are then sold in Delhi’s thriving scrap market. “I earn about 5,000 rupees a month doing this,” says Gupta, who also works as a toilet cleaner near his modest home. He saves whatever extra he earns for his two grandchildren, intending to share it with them when they’re older.

In Hinduism, rivers are seen as sacred, and devotees often throw offerings like coins, flowers, and coconuts into the water as gifts to the “river goddess,” believed to sustain life by providing water. The Yamuna, which begins in the Himalayas, is especially revered — people cremate loved ones on its banks and toss in their valuables, including jewelry, along with the ashes.

Despite the river’s high pollution levels, Gupta and others dive into its murky waters, risking their health in pursuit of potential treasures. He follows this routine every morning and evening, balancing it with his day job — a schedule he’s maintained for 35 years. Arvind Kumar, 29, has been a full-time river diver for nearly 12 years. “There’s no steady income in this line of work,” he says. On average, he makes around 600 rupees a day — less than the government’s minimum wage for unskilled labor.

Most days, divers find coins, bottles, and plastic. Occasionally, they discover small pieces of gold or jewelry. On rare occasions, they come across human remains — sometimes assisting police in retrieving bodies or even helping rescue people swept away by the current. According to Gupta, saving someone brings them more joy than any treasure. A devout Hindu, he believes the river is protected by Mata Rani, the mother goddess. “Why should I fear?” he asks. “If she wants me to live, I’ll live. If she wants me to die, I’ll die.”