Govt to develop 5-km stretch of Yamuna

Themed gardens, boating, canoeing and other recreational activities along the Yamuna will be established by the Delhi government, which will unveil a river-front development plan on November 1.

Tourism Minister and Delhi Jal Board Chairperson Kapil Mishra said on Tuesday that the DJB’s Horticulture Department had started developing a medicinal garden and a Nakshatra Vatika, inspired by Hindu mythology, at Geeta Ghat.

The gardens will be completed at a cost of Rs.25 lakh in two months, said Mr. Mishra, adding that the DJB had taken over the maintenance of the stretch from the Delhi Development Authority.

As part of a larger plan to improve the 22-km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, a 5-km stretch of the riverbank will be developed first, said Mr. Mishra.

The river-front development plan for this stretch will be announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 1, when a massive Yamuna aarti is held at Sonia Vihar.

Mr. Mishra said the plan will include setting up of international-level boating and canoeing facilities, cleaning up the path to the bank and plantation along it. The plan, which will cost the Tourism Department a total of Rs.200 crore, will be executed in three phases, with the first one likely to be done in six months.

“Since the beginning of last year, Yamuna aartis have been held at the ghats every day by volunteer groups. This time we have decided that the government will hold large-scale events every few months. We expect about 10,000 people for the aarti on November 1,” said Mr. Mishra.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mishra said that the plan to operate steamers for river transport had been taken up with the Centre. However, talks were still on about how the costs of the project would be shared by Delhi and the Centre. Mr. Mishra said the proposal would see some concrete developments by December.

The Horticulture Department has started developing a medicinal garden and a Nakshatra garden