Gearing up for upcoming assembly poll battle, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Vijay Goel launched a scathing attack on the Congress governments in Delhi and at the Centre for “wasting Rs.3,500 crore in the name of saving the Yamuna” without achieving the objective.
Expressing deep concern over the alleged unhindered flow of untreated sewage into the river, Goel said the Yamuna will die within 10 years if it is continued to be exploited at the current rate.
The newly-appointed Delhi BJP chief made the remarks while releasing a vision document ‘Save Yamuna, Save Delhi’ on Saturday. Goel said the Yamuna flows for about 48 kilometres in Delhi. Of this, a 28-km stretch does not have any flow of water.
A nine-point action plan has been suggested in the vision document.
It includes release of sufficient water from Hathinikund barrage, implementations of the directions given by a Supreme Court-appointed panel, installing efficient sewage treatment plants, rainwater harvesting and conservation of groundwater, preventing garbage from being thrown into the river, dual water distribution system in Delhi and delineating the riverbed as a fully-protected area.
“It is the responsibility of the government to protect the farmers, fishermen dependent on the river. Untreated sewage is released into the Yamuna at 22 places in Delhi,” Goel said.