Centre, Delhi governments to clean Yamuna together

The central and Delhi governments have decided to come together to clean up the Yamuna river in the capital.

They will be using a Special Purpose Vehicle for this purpose, a Delhi government official said after a meeting between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti.

A blueprint will be prepared in 45 days, the official added.

The beautification of the Yamuna river front also came up at the meeting, also attended by Delhi's Water Minister Kapil Mishra.

The Yamuna, venerated by Hindus, originates from the Yamunotri glacier, at 6,387 metres above sea level in the Himalayas. It flows through Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh (1,376 km) before merging with the Ganga in Allahabad.

The river accounts for 70 percent of Delhi's water needs.

The Yamuna is considered largely clean from Yamunotri until Wazirabad in northeast Delhi when the polluted stretch starts.

Kejriwal said all concerned ministries and departments would have to work together for cleaning the "historic river and reviving its past glory".

A water resources ministry statement said Uma Bharti accepted Kejriwal's request for convening a joint meeting soon with Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

She said she will take up the matter with the concerned ministers.

Kejriwal said such a meeting was important as all the concerned departments would have to work together for cleaning the river.