file photo
Photo: ANI
Expansion
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Thursday launched a mega drive to clean the Yamuna river in the flood plains of Yamuna. In the first phase of this campaign, cleanliness will be done from Kudsia Ghat near ISBT, Kashmere Gate to ITO. Gautam Gambhir, Member of Parliament, East Delhi, Sunil Sethi, President, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and other dignitaries were present at the launch of the campaign. During this, the LG also prepared the Territorial Army for the Yamuna cleaning campaign, in which students and others would participate.
The Territorial Army will start the cleaning operation from Friday under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). In the first phase of this campaign, the Yamuna floodplains will be cleaned till ITO and in the second phase till Okhla barrage. During this the encroachment will be removed along with cleaning. Along with this, pieces of stone and limestone will be put in front of the drains falling into the Yamuna with the Drain BOD reducing technique. These stone pieces will absorb the heavy particles and prevent them from falling into the river.
Will oxidize the water. The drain BOD reducing technology is being trialled at ISBT drain and will be gradually replicated at other locations. On this occasion, the Lieutenant Governor said that he appealed to all the agencies to make concerted efforts to clean the Yamuna. He said that with the cooperation of the public, there will be a radical change in the condition of Yamuna in the next six months. Massive drives are underway to stop drains falling into the Yamuna, clean trunk and peripheral sewer lines and upgrade existing sewage treatment plants (STPs).
The LG appreciated the sustained efforts made by various agencies as a result of which the 17 km stretch of Najafgarh drain, which is the biggest polluter of river Yamuna, has been completely cleaned. 13 drains falling into it have been completely closed. Due to this, there has been a reduction of 30 percent in the BOD level within five months.
Fined 53 lakhs
On the instructions of the Lieutenant Governor, surprise inspections of water polluting units are being conducted across the city and in the last three weeks, 12 such units have been fined by disconnecting water and electricity supply. Along with this, a heavy fine of Rs 53 lakh has been imposed.
