Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday directed officials to stop release of “untreated water” into Yamuna after he took stock of the projects undertaken for cleaning the river.
“Where is the water in the Yamuna?” the CM asked Agra district magistrate Gaurav Dayal, visibly upset by the sorry state of the river, one of the dirtiest and most polluted in the country.
He asked the officials to explore if the untreated water could be diverted to a common sewage treatment plant (STP) and whether electricity could be generated from it.
On his first visit to Agra after taking over as CM, Adityanath reached the site, earlier known as the Taj Heritage Corridor, and walked on the Yamuna river bed against the backdrop of Taj Mahal for half an hour.
He was accompanied by Agra MP RS Katheria, chief superintending archaeologist of ASI (Agra circle) Bhuvan Vikram Singh, Dinesh Kumar from tourism department and Gaurav Dayal.
Seeing buffaloes moving around in the river that has now shrunk into a stream, Adityanath inquired about the projects that have been lined up to improve the situation.
KC Jain from the Agra Development Foundation informed the CM about the plans for the development of areas between Red Fort and Taj Mahal as heritage park with green cover.
The CM then decided to skip a programme organised on the banks of the Yamuna and left for inspection of a slum area in Ukkhara on the outskirts of Agra where he enquired about the steps being taken to ensure cleanliness.
Earlier, the CM reached Kheria airport at 10.30 am and left for the inspection of SN Medical College where he asked the patients about the healthcare facilities. Yogi stayed at the hospital for about 20 minutes.
The CM also visited Nagaria village where 15 people had died in a road mishap on Friday. The incident took place when the mini-truck in which they were returning from a pre-marriage ceremony in Jalesar (Etah) fell into a roadside drain.
The CM gave cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
Source: HindustanTimes