DDA event to amp up city’s engagement with Yamuna

As part of the event, which is being organised under the ‘Smart Cities Smart Urbanisation’ programme as part of the Centre’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, DDA will organise nature walks, bird watching, yoga, sand art and cycling, among others.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will hold a 15-day event -- from February 19 to March 6 -- to showcase the rejuvenated Yamuna floodplains and “revive people’s connection with the river”.

The DDA has developed cycle tracks in the floodplains as part of the redevelopment projects and a cycle rally will be held on the last day of the event. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

A large section of the 22km-stretch along the river has been redeveloped by the DDA as part of its riverfront redevelopment project. “The idea is to get more people to enjoy the redeveloped riverfront. Through this, we also plan to create awareness about the significance of restoration of the floodplains and sensitise people about the environment-related issues,” said an official.

As part of the event, which is being organised under the ‘Smart Cities Smart Urbanisation’ programme as part of the Centre’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, DDA will organise nature walks, bird watching, yoga, sand art and cycling, among others. The DDA will also organise a cleanliness drive to clear litter from the floodplains.

The DDA has developed cycle tracks in the floodplains as part of the redevelopment projects and a cycle rally will be held on the last day of the event. “The rally will cover important structures of national importance in/around the floodplains like such as Sur Ghat, Majnu ka Tila, Salim Garh fort, Raj Ghat, Asita West, Indraprastha Park and Kalindi Aviral. We are finalising the details of the event,” said a senior DDA official aware of the development.

Large parts of the 54km-long Yamuna riverfront was inaccessible to Delhiites for decades, and industrial waste and untreated sewage dumped into the river made it worse. In 2017, the DDA started the work on restoring the Yamuna floodplains, following a National Green Tribunal order in 2015.