Soon, take a ferry ride on Yamuna

NEW DELHI: A pilot ferry service in Yamuna will start after the monsoon and regular services are set to begin by this year end. Though it will be limited to only a few kilometres stretch from Tronica City in Ghaziabad to Sonia Vihar in Delhi, this service is likely to emerge as a major tourist attraction.

Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has approved Rs 7.55 crore for the water taxi project, which involves setting up of three floating jetties and ancillary facilities for tourists to reach the boarding and deboarding points. Last week, IWAI officials told shipping minister Nitin Gadkari that no construction will be carried out for jetties as per the direction of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

“Taking a ride on the pilot stretch will take about 30-40 minutes. During pilot run we will either hire the boats engaged by the National Cadet Corps or hire from the agencies that provide such motorised boats. Once the infrastructure and jetties are ready, we will bring in vessels that run on both electricity (using battery power) and diesel,” said an official involved in this project. IWAI will get a vessel from Kolkata as well for ferrying passengers and tourists on this stretch.

IWAI officials told TOI that following the NGT direction they are carrying out environment impact assessment study on the stretch and it will be completed next month. The authority will then approach the principal committee of NGT for the go ahead.

Sources said after setting up the facilities IWAI will hand over the task of running the vessels to the city government.

A study by the shipping ministry in 2015 had indicated that only the section between Palla and Wazirabad is navigable while the rest of it falling in Delhi --Wazirabad to Okhla -- is not suitable for navigation. It had suggested that at best the Wazirabad-Okhla stretch can be used for limited transportation of passenger and goods besides recreation; boating and other water sports will be possible only when the water quality and quantity improve.

It had also suggested that the passenger vessels plying on the river can work as a feeder service to major Metro stations from the river front such as at Kashmere Gate and Indraprastha. Both the stations are located close to the Yamuna. In Kochi Metro, similar provisions have been made to connect Metro stations to the backwaters.