'1,200 metric tonnes of garbage removed from Yamuna,' says V K Saxena

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena Sunday said 1,200 metric tonnes of garbage was removed from the Yamuna during the first phase of the river cleaning operation under the NGT-appointed high-level committee's supervision, leading to a significant improvement in key parameters.

He said the second phase of the operation, which will focus on the cleaning of the Yamuna banks and desilting of midstream muck, is set to commence on Monday.

"Inspected 11-km Signature Bridge-ITO Barrage stretch of Yamuna on completion of the first phase of high-level committee-monitored Yamuna cleaning operations.

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"Happy to share, significant improvement in key parameters in Yamuna with the removal of 1200 metric tonnes of garbage from the river since work started on February 12," Saxena tweeted.

He said the success of the cleaning operation is evident from the fact that 30 motorboats could simultaneously cruise through the river for 11 km between Wazirabad and ITO.

The cleaning of the Najafgarh Drain has also yielded significant results in terms of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand level coming down significantly on a year-on-year basis, the Delhi L-G said.