Uma Bharati: More water to be released in Yamuna

To bring down the level of pollution in Yamuna and ensure unfettered flow in the river, adequate water will “soon” be released in it from Haryana’s Hathni Kund barrage, Union minister Uma Bharati has said as she sought to address concerns raised by local religious leaders here.

The water resources minister also said she has already spoken to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal and Uttar Pradesh minister Shivpal Singh Yadav in this regard and a plan has been worked out to release water.

“Sewage is flowing into Yamuna from Delhi, which is very sad. It was a difficult task to see water is discharged from the barrage in Yamuna. However, we have spoken to the chief ministers of Delhi and Haryana and also to Mr Yadav and worked out a plan for releasing around 30 per cent water in the river,” Ms Bharati said during an event at Shrikrishna Kripadham here.

The government will soon put into service “special machines” to rid Yamuna of waste, she added.

This work is expected to keep the river flowing throughout the year, but the religious leaders need “to give some time” for the government to see things start rolling.

The Union water resources ministry has already started the work of setting up sewage treatment plant along the river in Mathura as part of the Centre’s ambitious ‘Namami Gange’ programme.