cruise
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
If everything goes well in Mathura, then in the coming month of February, the project of water transportation in Yamuna from Vrindavan to Gokul will be realized. Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad has given NOC for operating two cruises for this project. Two cruises with a capacity of 400 passengers will be run in Yamuna, for which a tender worth Rs 40 crore was floated. Apart from this, more than half a dozen steamers will also come.
The proposal for water transport in Yamuna on behalf of Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad was earlier sent by the then Union Water Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari through MP Hema Malini. During his time, the team of Union Water Transport Ministry had also come and conducted a survey and prepared its detailed report. Sarbananda Sonowal, who became the Union Water Transport Minister after Gadkari, has also taken the project forward and allotted two cruises to ply on the Yamuna from Vrindavan to Gokul in Mathura.
Apart from these two cruises, there will also be more than half a dozen steamers, through which passengers will be able to come from Vrindavan to Gokul or from Gokul to Vrindavan. Nagendra Pratap, CEO of Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad, said that the formalities of NOC for cruise operation have been completed.
The route will be 22 km, terminals will be built at 11 places
The Yamuna waterway from Vrindavan to Gokul will be approximately 22 km long, where tourists can disembark and board the cruise at multiple places. Terminals will be built at a total of 11 places on this route. Among these, terminals will be built at Jugal Ghat, Vihar Ghat, Keshi Ghat, Deorha Baba Ghat, Panigaon, Kanskila, Swami Ghat, Vishram Ghat, Sudarshan Ghat, Gokul Ghat and Gokul Barrage.
Water level will have to be maintained
Barring floods and its aftermath, water is often rarely seen in the Yamuna. In such a situation, maintaining the water level to run the cruise will be a challenge. The Central Ministry team had conducted the survey earlier. Then it was said by the team that wherever the water level in Yamuna is low, dredging will be done by the local authority.
There will be less traffic pressure on the road
After the Vrindavan-Gokul water route becomes operational, the pressure on road transport and traffic jams will reduce. This waterway will not only be an additional option for passenger transportation, but will also become a means to know the culture of Braj in more depth. Direct darshan of the ancient and traditional Yamuna Ghats will give a different experience to the devotees.