Yamuna Foam Returns at Kalindi Kunj Days After Rs 8,941 Crore Plan
Image: PTI / The Tribune
A thick layer of foam floated on the Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj in Delhi on the mornings of Friday, 23 October, and Saturday, 24 October, news agency ANI reported, two days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched 43 Delhi Jal Board projects worth Rs 8,941 crore meant to stop sewage entering the river. The reports did not give a cause for the foam, and no statement from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee or the Delhi Jal Board was available when this story was written.
Rs 8,941 Crore for Sewage Plants and Sewer Lines
On Thursday, 22 October, Shah inaugurated 10 projects worth Rs 2,827.11 crore and laid foundation stones for 33 more worth Rs 6,114.11 crore, The Tribune reported. The largest items are a 124 MGD sewage treatment plant at Okhla (Rs 1,161 crore) and 29 decentralised plants and pumping stations (Rs 3,113.67 crore) for 358 unauthorised colonies and 113 villages. Eight existing plants are being upgraded, taking their combined capacity from 78.2 MGD to 140.8 MGD, and 1,034 km of new sewer lines (Rs 1,691 crore) will reach areas that have none.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta called it “a joyful day for the people of Delhi”. Shah said more than 40 per cent of the work to clean the river had been covered.
Also read Police Commemoration Day: 154 Names Added to Wall of Valour
Two Years of Work Before Drains Run Clean
The projects are not finished. The Tribune reported that the works are expected to take about two to two and a half years, after which no untreated wastewater from Delhi should reach the Yamuna through drains. A visible improvement in the river is expected in about a year and a half. Millennium Post reported that Shah gave a target of before May 2029 for cleaning the river.
Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said on the same occasion that cleaning ghats alone would not restore the river unless sewage is stopped at the source. A “Chalo Yamuna” drive on 18 October drew over 35,000 volunteers, who cleaned 70 locations, according to The Tribune.
What to Watch Before the Next Winter
Foam on the Yamuna has been a yearly sight in Delhi in the post-monsoon months. This year it has appeared while the sewage works are only starting, so more of it is likely before the new plants come online. The Delhi government has not announced a date for the first of the 33 new projects to start running. Readers can follow related coverage on Delhi’s air quality this week, an earlier ammonia scare in the river, and our Daily Updates page.
Source: Based on reporting by The Tribune, Millennium Post and Asianet Newsable (ANI).
Image: PTI / The Tribune.
