Barricades along Yamuna no deterrent for people tossing waste

The 10-foot-high wire barricades, shaped like an inverted ‘L’, were meant to bar people from tossing things into the Yamuna. The state Government had installed the barriers along all the major bridges in 2003 as part of its ‘Save Yamuna’ campaign under the Yamuna Action Plan-I. Signboards with messages were also put up on all the bridges to discourage people. Now, the iron meshes have been neatly cut, rendering the carefully-designed structure less effective.

Officials say while the design for the iron meshes on these bridges over Yamuna were prepared by the Environment Department, they were constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD), responsible for maintaining them. “The idea was not only to stop but also create awareness among the people of Delhi not to dump plastics, garbage and other polluting agents in the Yamuna as it contributed to the deterioration of the river,” said an official with the Environment Department.

“Any protective measure to curtail pollution is as good or bad as its weakest link. If the meshes were so easy to be bypassed by people, what was the point in putting them up?” asks Manoj Mishra, convenor of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan.

“It is unfortunate that the meshes have been broken, and people do not realise the importance of keeping the river clean. Yamuna is the lifeline of Delhi,” he adds.

PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, maintained he was not aware of the problem. “I will get the meshes checked and repaired at the earliest. Some people steal iron parts to earn money. But I’ll make sure a proper check is put on the same,” he said.

“Such projects have no meaning unless implemented properly. The Delhi government should have roped in its member schools of eco clubs, who could have been made monitoring wardens.”

“School children should have been involved in a continuous campaign of that nature. You need to be more proactive in educating the public than putting up such physical barriers,” he said.