Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attended the ‘Holi Milan Samaroh’ at Shalimar Bagh Club Society on Tuesday, where she celebrated the festival with the residents and made a significant announcement about river transport in the city.
Addressing the gathering, CM Gupta said, “Today, we have signed an MoU, and soon a ‘small ferry’ cruise will start in River Yamuna. It will begin in 3-4 months, enhancing connectivity and tourism in the capital.”
She also highlighted the ongoing efforts to clean the Yamuna, saying, “The task of cleaning the Yamuna is not going to stop now. The huge team working on it will do the work on a daily basis. We are not wasting even a second in cleaning the Yamuna River. Soon, the people of Delhi will sit on the banks of the Yamuna and witness the grand Yamuna Aarti like the Ganga Aarti of Banaras.”
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which is the nodal agency of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) for National Waterways, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various Delhi government agencies, including the Irrigation and Flood Control department, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Jal Board (DJB), and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), on Tuesday.
This MoU aims to enhance cruise tourism on a four-kilometre stretch of the River Yamuna (National Waterway 110) between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur. The MoU signing ceremony took place at Asita Park, with Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, CM Rekha Gupta, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of State Shantanu Thakur, and senior officials in attendance.
The improvement of Yamuna’s condition has been one of the key priorities for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since it took power in Delhi. Recently, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa met with Lieutenant Governor Saxena to discuss the state of the Yamuna and other environmental concerns in the capital.
Sirsa described the meeting as “detailed and positive,” emphasizing that the Delhi government is committed to addressing these concerns. “I paid a courtesy call to the LG and held a discussion regarding the issue of pollution, garbage, and Yamuna pollution in Delhi — it was a detailed and positive discussion and we also assured all support to the Delhi government. CM Rekha Gupta led the Delhi government, which is working constantly following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision,” he said.