Uninterrupted Yamuna will quench thirst of Delhi

From Newsbuddy Desk

New Delhi : To give new life to the Yamuna river in Delhi, nine years ago, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had given an order that the river should be demarcated as far as it flows. However, neither the government departments nor the land mafia lagged behind in occupying the land left by the Yamuna in summer. A committee was also formed in this regard, which had to go to the spot and mark the place where the river expands the most during its full youth.

No one ever knew how much land is needed to flow comfortably when the river is in spate in the months of Sawan-Bhadon. Nor was it ever cared how the entire water system is getting disturbed due to the reduction in the depth of the river. It is definitely recorded in government documents that in the 22 km stretch from Wazirabad Barrage, the entry point of Yamuna river in Delhi, to Okhla Barrage, 9700 hectares of floodplain land has been covered with permanent structures. Out of this, 3638 hectares has been regularized by the Delhi Development Authority itself. Apart from this, illegal and legal encroachments are increasing every year.

It has to be understood that whether it is the construction of a drain of the Sahabi river that flows from Aravali to meet the Najafgarh lake and the natural canal that connects this lake to Yamuna, or the seven bridges of Khidki village in Saket or the canals of Lodhi Garden, in reality, all these were the means of storing the water in ponds whenever the Yamuna used to get more water than its capacity. In the name of beautifying the city, all these centuries-old structures were destroyed. Now neither does the rainwater go into the pond nor does the waterlogging on the roads stop during the rainy season.