New Delhi, Jun 2 (PTI) The Arvind Kejriwal government is working day and night to clean the Yamuna river and provide 24×7 water supply to Delhiites and the Palla floodplain project is “most crucial” for achieving this goal, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice Chairman Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Thursday.
He said the Palla project is indispensable to raise groundwater levels and strengthen Delhi’s water security.
Started in 2019, the three-year project involved retaining excess Yamuna water in shallow reservoirs on the floodplains during the monsoon season at Palla on the northern outskirts of the capital near the Delhi-Haryana border.
According to officials, the project recorded the highest rise of up to 2.5 metres in the groundwater level in its third and final year on the back of a record-breaking rainfall in the monsoon season last year.
“The project will give an unprecedented boost to water conservation, water pollution control, underground aquifer recharge, water security, and ultimately, speed up ecological restoration in some areas where ecosystems have been damaged in the past,” Bharadwaj said during a visit to the Palla project site.
“The Arvind Kejriwal government is working day and night to clean Yamuna and provide 24×7 water supply to the Delhiites. The Palla floodplain project is the most crucial project in terms of fulfilling the dream of the chief minister to make Delhi self-sufficient in terms of drinking water supply,” he said.
A massive 26-acre pond has been created on the floodplain to retain floodwater, and 33 piezometers have been installed to ascertain the quantum of rise in groundwater levels.
The Palla floodplain runs across 20–25 km of the Yamuna’s length north of Wazirabad and contains aquifers that are perennial sources of drinking water for Delhi. The aquifers also act as natural water storage and recharge centres, especially during the monsoon months. PTI GVS RHL
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Source: The Print
