BJP poll manifesto: Party promises to develop Yamuna river front as eco-tourism hub

The BJP on Friday said it would develop the river front of the Yamuna as an eco-tourism hub on the lines of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and the Ganga in Varanasi if voted to power in Delhi.

In its 'Sanklap Patra' (manifesto) for the February 8 Delhi assembly polls, the party also promised a 'Yamuna Museum' on the river's bank, besides constituting a 'Delhi Yamuna Vikas Board' to ensure clean and uninterrupted flow of water in the river.

The 'Sankalp Patra' was released in the presence of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Prakash Javadekar and Harsh Vardhan. The party's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari and MPs were also present.

"We will set up a water taxi service between Wazirabad and Sonia Vihar, Jagatpur and Tronica City at affordable prices. This will be a non-polluting mode of transport which will also save time of travellers," the BJP said in its manifesto.

The Yamuna banks will be developed as an eco-tourism hub on the lines of the work done along the banks of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and the Ganga in Varanasi, it stated.

"An annual festival - Yamuna Mahotsav - will be organised to highlight and celebrate the religious importance of the Yamuna. We will also deploy bio-remediation technology for cleaning up the river," the party said.

The BJP also said that if it forms government in Delhi, it will implement biological treatment of industrial pollutants at source and expand the capacity of sewage treatment plants.

"We will also build a network of ghats on the Yamuna to ensure proper facilities during Chhath Puja," it said, adding that the party is committed to taking all steps to free the river of pollution in a time-bound manner.