Delhi govt to launch Yamuna cruise service on Nov 10

The Yamuna cruise service between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur will be opened to the public on Tuesday with Sarbananda Sonowal, union minister of ports, shipping and waterways and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta expected to launch the services

The Yamuna cruise service between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur will be opened to the public on Tuesday with Sarbananda Sonowal, union minister of ports, shipping and waterways and Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta expected to launch the services. The boat will operate approximately 6km with space for 30 passengers and a round trip expected to take 35 to 45 minutes.

CM Gupta had inspected the trials on October 26 (Sanchit Khanna/ HT)

Developed along the Sonia Vihar-Jagatpur stretch of the river, the initiative aims to promote river-based tourism and offer visitors a new recreational experience in the national capital. Yamuna has been designated as National Waterway-110 under the National Waterways Act, 2016.

“The development of the recreational river cruise service along the Sonia Vihar-Jagatpur stretch of the Yamuna river in Delhi marks a step towards harnessing the potential of this National Waterway for recreational navigation and river-based tourism. Ahead of the launch, trial runs of the cruise vessel were successfully conducted last month in the presence of senior officials from IWAI and the Delhi government,” the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways said in a statement on Monday.

CM Gupta had inspected the trials on October 26. Facilities developed along the river include food kiosks, a restaurant, a children’s zone and other public amenities, with the project aimed at turning the stretch into a tourism and recreation destination for residents.

She said the government planned to formally launch the service before Chhath Puja so that residents could experience a cruise on the river adding that “equal attention must be paid to keeping the Yamuna clean and protecting its ecology.”

Under the proposed arrangements, visitors will pay an entry fee of ₹50 for the premises, while the fare for a complete cruise trip has been set at ₹500. The government has said that project had followed the requirements of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and environmental standards.

The union ministry on Monday said that the initiative is expected to offer Delhi residents and tourists a unique experience while fostering greater public engagement with the Yamuna. “The use of electric-powered cruise vessels will also demonstrate the potential of inland waterways in promoting clean and sustainable mobility, while adding a new recreational attraction to the National Capital Region,” it added.

Earlier in May, HT had reported how the cruise boat was stranded in small pool of water after the river went dry during the annual summer lean season. The water level in the river channel has dropped to less than 668.4ft leaving shallow pools of water and narrow river streams where heavy boats like a cruise are unable to navigate.

Lack of e-flow in the river, exposed sandy river beds and large patches of the Yamuna drying up is a phenomenon seen during May-June followed by flooding periods in monsoon season. Experts say that the eco-tourism, water sports and cruise plan seems to be poorly thought out and similar water taxi plans in the past failed due to similar reasons.

Experts also raised questions over the government’s plans. Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), said that the rejuvenation of the river should be the first priority and eco-tourism and water sports should only come later. “The river is struggling to get a basic minimum environmental flow. Barely 350 cusecs of water is being released from the Hathinikund. A similar plan to run a taxi in the stretch had failed in the past but no lessons have been learnt. They should first conduct an environmental impact study and study the depth of the river to assess the requirements of the boat operations. This might adversely impact aquatic life,” he added.