"Delhi government is fully engaged in Yamuna cleaning": BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi

Speaking to media persons, Lekhi said, "The BJP had a pledge, and we are known for working on our pledges. We had taken an oath and promised that we would work towards cleaning Yamuna and would clean it. I am satisfied that the BJP's Delhi government is fully engaged in this work, and soon we will see good results."

Meanwhile, cleaning the Yamuna was a significant issue during the Delhi Assembly elections held in February, in which the BJP emerged victorious.

Following the elections, the newly elected government has been emphasising the cleaning of drains and sewage systems and plans to desilt them before the onset of the monsoon to prevent waterlogging, a recurring problem in the city.

Earlier, Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma conducted an inspection of roads and drains in the Trilokpuri and Patparganj assembly constituencies on Friday. During the inspection, Verma identified several issues related to the cleaning and maintenance of roads and drains, after which he suspended an Executive Engineer, Ramashish Singh.

He said, "It is the job of PWD to clean drains, but that is absolutely not being done. So, I have ordered the suspension of XEN (Executive Engineer) here. All officers have been clearly told that if they do not work properly, action will be taken. We can't leave Delhi, our capital, like this."

He inspected the roads and drains starting from New Ashok Nagar Metro station, followed by Chilla village in Trilokpuri and Certain areas of Patparganj assembly. Officials from Jal Board, PWD, and Municipal Corporation of Delhi were also present at the spot.

The Minister spoke to ANI about the inspection and highlighted problems that came to the fore and how he sought to resolve them. He said, "There are several issues. We saw encroachment at several locations. We have directed the removal of encroachment because if everyone encroaches above drains, its cleaning won't be possible, and the water won't pass during monsoon season and enter the houses."

Minister Verma further said, "This situation is across Delhi. All such problems are being identified, and officers are being directed to resolve these issues. Desilting of all drains will be done before the monsoon on war footing so that water passes through drains instead of entering houses. Our priority is to finish this before the monsoon." (ANI)