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Yamuna above danger mark in Agra
Agra/Mathura, August 22, 2011 (IANS): The Yamuna river here in Uttar Pradesh crossed the danger mark early
Sunday, officials said. "We are fully prepared and are closely monitoring the situation," said municipal commissioner of Agra PN
Dube. Agra drains are choked and the backflow is creating drainage problem, he said. The Yamuna river is now flowing at the low flood level danger mark due
to heavy discharges from upstream barrages, but is still below the highest levels.
The discharge from the Gokul barrage in Mathura district is increasing every few hours, following the release of water from Okhla and Hathini
Kund barrages. Hundreds of villages in Bah, Fatehabad, Etmadpur and Kiraoli tehsils in
Agra are likely to be affected by the flood waters in the next few days. The Keshi Ghat and a part of the Parikrama route at Vrindavan in Mathura
are already submerged. Police have started evacuating people from low-lying areas in
Mathura. Yamuna on Saturday submerged a large part of the Banshi-bat area in Vrindavan. Release of more than a lakh cusecs of water Friday night has reached
Vrindavan, inundating half a dozen colonies in the low-lying areas along the river bank. Irrigation department officials said they have received reports that
more than six lakh cusecs of water had been released from Tajewala barrage upstream of Delhi.
Yamuna continues to flow above danger level in Delhi
New Delhi, August 18, 2011 (IANS) The Yamuna river continued to flow above the
danger mark in Delhi Thursday after water release from Haryana's Hathini
Kund dam, even as the authorities evacuated people from neighbouring low-lying areas, an official said.
'The river is at 205.46 metres, way above its danger mark of 204.83 metres. By evening, the level is expected to reach 205.60 metres,' said
D.P. Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Gandhi Nagar, east Delhi. 'The problem is for the farmers based near the river bed. We are trying
to evacuate them,' Singh added. The authorities are keeping a close eye on the level that was expected
to result in a flood-like situation in the low-lying areas of east Delhi
after 6,22,000 cusecs of water was released from Hathini Kund Tuesday.
Hooda presses for building three new dams on Yamuna
New Delhi, July 19, 2011 (PTI) Haryana has demanded early construction of three
storage dams on river Yamuna at Renuka, Kishau and Lakhwar Vyasi. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda raised this issue at the
4th meeting of Upper Yamuna River Committee (UYRC) held here today. The meeting presided by Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal was
attended by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Haryana Irrigation Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha and the ministers of Himachal
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, besides officials of concerned departments
of the states, including Uttarakhand. Hooda said Yamuna is the only perennial river in Haryana and thus the state would like to harness
every drop of water for its development.
Recognise Yamuna as heritage entity
Agra, April 20, 2011 (IANS): More than a month after ascetics embarked on a 1,000-km journey
on foot to call for the restoration of the original glory of the Yamuna, conservationists here have demanded the river be recognised as a
heritage entity, saying this alone can save the river from pollution and neglect. "Yamuna is not just the lifeline of half a dozen cities from Delhi to
Agra, but a repository of religious beliefs, culture, history and architecture," says Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal
Heritage Conservation Society. "Not just for the Sri Krishna lore, the Vaishnavite traditions followed
by millions of devotees across the globe owe much to the Yamuna," adds Shravan Kumar Singh, a conservationist.
Protests for Yamuna pick up in Mathura
Mathura, April 13, 2011 (PTI) Religious leaders and NGOs here have taken up the
cause of river Yamuna by protesting against the district administration's alleged inaction over halting pollution levels and
cleaning it. While the Harinam Pracharini Sabha and BKU (Bhanu group) have taken out the 'Sangam to Delhi Yatra' to catch attention of the
authorities, religious leaders like Nand Das Maharaj and Ramesh Pujari
have started an indefinite fast over the issue. Students and trader organisations have also taken part in protesting against the inaction.
Now, ulema join clean river drive
LUCKNOW, March 27, 2010: The beginning was made by Agra shahar qazi Maulana Syed
Mohammad Sadir and his deputy naib Maulana Imam Uzer Alam last week. Together they hit upon
the novel idea of introducing a short and crisp 'taqreer' (public speech) on water conservation, Yamuna pollution and its adverse
environmental impact right after solemnising a nikah. Now, concerned about the alarming rise in pollution in three main rivers
of UP — Ganga, Yamuna and Gomati — the All India Masharikh and Ulema Board, which is a representative body of Barelvi Muslims, and Darul
Uloom Firangimahal have also come forward to join the ''save-our-rivers'' campaign.
The Board is dispatching instructions to all its 'imams', the number could be several thousands, to launch an intensive public awareness on
checking river pollution, general secretary Babar Ashraf said .
''In fact, 1,400 years ago Prophet had warned against contaminating water bodies, stagnant or flowing,'' he pointed out. Quran
defines water as a life sustaining substance and key agent of purification. Therefore, it is the duty of every devout Muslim to adopt
anti-pollution measures and actively join a purification mission, he said. (TOI)
No more passing the buck: Jairam to Delhi, Haryana on Yamuna issue
New Delhi, March 23, 2010 (IANA) Environment and Forests Minister Jairam
Ramesh Wednesday asked the Delhi and Haryana governments to stop passing the buck on the Yamuna, saying both of them should take steps to clean
the river of its filth and waste. Raising concerns over the pollution in the Yamuna, Ramesh said there is
'no water' in the river and that is see is waste dumped by the industrial units of Haryana and Delhi.
Ascetics highlight Yamuna pollution to president
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), March 8, 2011 (IANS): More than 100 Vaishnavite ascetics from Maharashtra have requested President Pratibha Patil to
help save the Yamuna river from pollution. In a memorandum submitted to the president, whom they met at Rashtrapati
Bhavan in New Delhi Monday, the delegation members said from Tajewala to
Agra, the Yamuna is almost dead due to pollutants. Braj Life Line convener told mediapersons in Mathura that the president
was distressed and expressed concern after listening to the pain and anguish of the Vaishanavites from Amravati in Maharashtra. The meeting was arranged the president's husband, Devisingh Patil, who is a trustee of the Pushtiyamargiya temple of the Vaishanavites in
Amravati. Saints, ascetics and Yamuna bhakts of the Braj mandal area have begun a
long march to to solicit support for the Save Yamuna movement. It started from Sangam in Allahabad March 2. They are scheduled to reach
Fatehpur district Tuesday and will end their march in Delhi mid-April
Ammonium in Yamuna goes up again, water supply may suffer
NEW DELHI, march 3, 2011: In a span of just 15 days, Delhi was again forced to
curtail water production at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants after level of ammonia in raw water went up substantially
on Tuesday due to high levels of pollutants. Union minister for environment Jairam Ramesh asked the Central Pollution Control Board
to submit a report to him on the issue by Wednesday noon. Delhi has been reporting a frequent rise in level of ammonia and
chloride in raw water. Haryana is supposed to provide 'optimum quality' water to Delhi at Wazirabad since all of it is meant for the capital's
drinking needs. However, very often untreated sewage and effluent enters the river near Sonepat and Panipat, leading to high level of pollutants
in the raw water. Delhi, meanwhile, had been given a deadline of 2012 to stop discharging
untreated waste into the Yamuna by strictly implementing its river cleaning projects.
Japan loan to to improve the water quality of the Yamuna
NEW DELHI, February 18, 2011: Japan has extended India a Rs.2,557 crore ($568.22 million)
loan to fund three projects related to agriculture, forestry and environment, an official statement said on Thursday.
Over two-thirds of the new loan package extended under Japan's official development assistance (ODA) programme will be used to improve the water
quality of the Yamuna river in Delhi. The total cost of the Yamuna Action Plan Project-III is estimated at
Rs.2,240.53 crore, of which Japan has committed to providing Rs.1794.66 crore.
Yamuna bridge reopens after four months
YAMUNANAGAR, February 6, 2011: After four months, the Yamuna river bridge,
connecting Haryana and Uttar Pradesh was ultimately opened for traffic on Thursday. The bridge situated near Kalanaur village in Yamunanagar
district at NH-73 had been closed on October, 8, 2010 to undertake repair work after major cracks were found in two pier caps of the
bridge. The National Highway Authority (NHA), Uttar Pradesh, under whose jurisdiction this bridge falls, got
the repair work conducted from Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation.
Akshardham does not have environmental clearance
NEW DELHI, January 7, 2011: The Akshardham Temple, built on banks of Yamuna River here, lacks environmental clearance , Environment Minister Jairam
Ramesh said today but conceded that nothing could be done about it now. "Akshardham didn't get the clearance. Akshardham didn't apply for the
environmental clearance," Ramesh told reporters here about the grand temple of Swaminarayan sect spread over 30-acre plot of land.
Asked whether Akshardham Temple was constructed by violating the environmental norms, he said, "It has already happened. What is yet to happen, we can stop that."
Pressed further, he said, "We can't demolish the Akshardham Complex. We have to protect the remaining river bed."
The temple, which was built over five years before being inaugurated on November 6, 2005, had courted controversies earlier also over environmental concerns.
Noting that he was seriously considering the concept of the River Regulation
Zone notification, Ramesh said, "The manner in which the Yamuna river belt has
been devastated by construction should be a wake up call to all of us." "River belts...whether it is Akshardham Temple, which was the first culprit,
then we had a series of other constructions. River belts have to be protected," he said. Ramesh was also asked whether the Commonwealth Games village, built adjacent to
Akshardham, also lacked green nod. "Yes it got. There was a village...I don't want to get into past, the clearance
was given," he said. Source: The Economic Times |
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