Govt bows, agrees to release more water into Yamuna

Late on Wednesday night, the government agreed to release additional 250 cusec water into the Yamuna, bowing to the demand of the Yamuna Rakshak Dal, camping in the national capital since Monday.

Late on Wednesday night, the government agreed to release additional 250 cusec water into the Yamuna, bowing to the demand of the Yamuna Rakshak Dal, camping in the national capital since Monday.

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“The government has promised us release of additional 250 cusec at Hathni Kund, which would be brought to Palla, where the river enters Delhi, through a separate canal. This would ensure adequate flow till Braj area,” Mahant Jai Kishan Das, president of Yamuna Rakshak Dal said.

“The government has also agreed to not let any sewage into the Yamuna and build a parallel canal to collect it before taking it for treatment,” Das said.

Union water resources minister Harish Rawat reached the camp site at Ali Gaon at around 11pm and addressed the volunteers.

The decision came after a series of meetings over the last three days after Yamuna campaigners, mostly from the Braj area, led by Baba Jai Kishan Das, Pankaj Baba and Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Bhanu Prasad Singh kept on harping for release of more water for a cleaner Yamuna during their negotiations/meetings with the minister and the ministry officials.

Similar meetings that were held on Monday and Tuesday – between Yamuna volunteers’ leaders with Rawat and union environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan – had remained inconclusive.

The main demand of the campaigners was release of 50% of all the water impounded at Hathni Kund in Haryana so that the Yamuna has natural flow.