Yamuna River To Get Back Its Fish By 2023: Water Minister

Satyendar Jain, Delhi Water Minister on Tuesday said that the Yamuna River in the national capital will be cleansed and ready for bathing and fish propagation by December 2023.

River Yamuna will be Clean by 2023

All of Delhi's wastewater will be tapped in the next six months, and all regions will be connected to the sewage network in the following 15 months, he said during an Assocham virtual session.

"We will clear the Yamuna by December 2023, not 2025. All of the drains will be thoroughly cleaned... I am confident. We will invite you all to take a plunge in any stretch of the river in Delhi "he stated.

"The Yamuna and all the drains in Delhi will be so clean that you could find fish in the water," Jain continued. The minister also stated that in the next five to ten years, Delhi's groundwater level will be as excellent as it was 50 years ago.

Ongoing Experiment & Relieving Success

"At Palla, we ran an experiment on 25 acres of land (on the northern outskirts of the capital city near the Delhi-Haryana border)... It was a success, and we're now reproducing it "he stated.

The Palla project was part of the Delhi government's efforts to improve the city's water supply. During the monsoon season, extra Yamuna water was retained in shallow reservoirs on the floodplains as part of a three-year experimental project that began in 2019.

To hold floodwater, the government built a 25-acre pond on the Yamuna floodplains and placed 33 piezometers to monitor groundwater levels.