1,300 tonnes of garbage removed from Yamuna in 10 days: Parvesh Verma

Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Verma, inspected the Yamuna by boat on Wednesday and said 1,300 tonnes of garbage had been removed from the river in the past 10 days.

Later, he held a meeting with officials to assess the progress of the cleanup effort and said, "All drains in Delhi will be connected to sewage treatment plants (STPs) and their capacity will be increased to prevent untreated wastewater from flowing into the river."  Cleaning the Yamuna was one of the key promises made by the BJP for the recently-concluded Delhi Assembly polls.

He assured people that complaints related to sewage treatment would be addressed and all STPs are expected to be installed within two years.

"In 2023, Delhi faced a flood. Previously, all the floodgates were closed, but now they have been repaired and raised to prevent future flooding," the minister said.

"Our biggest commitment is to completely clean and restore the Yamuna. As of now, 1,300 metric tonnes of garbage have been removed in the last 10 days," Verma said.

Discussing future initiatives, Verma said common treatment plants would be installed in industrial areas to ensure proper disposal of chemical waste.

Moreover, works to repair and increase the height of security walls at the ITO Barrage gates are underway to prevent flooding, the minister said, adding special drives are also being conducted to clean the riverbanks and develop green zones.

"We have instructed the Delhi Development Authority to develop the Yamuna Riverfront that would transform the riverbank into a tourism and cultural hub," Verma said.

He claimed that in the past decade, no significant work had been done to clean the river, "not even on paper".

"It never even occurred to the previous government to work for the Yamuna. But now, not only the Delhi government but the PMO itself is involved," Verma added.