Ask any long-time occupant of Delhi and they will tell you without any indecision that Delhi has been fraught with traffic snarls for as long as one can remember. Hence, initiating a new transport system in the form of &lsquowater taxi&rsquos&rsquo couldn&rsquot make more sense Not only aspiring to develop tourism in the NCR region, this enterprise will also go a long way towards decongesting the perpetually choked roads of NCR.
In accordance to reports, the 28-crore project, that incorporates the cost of building terminals, acquiring vessels and dredging will ply on the Yamuna river. Segregating the project into phases, the first phase will service Sonia Vihar to Tronica City whereas, in phase 2, the plan is to connect Wazirabad to Sonia Vihar and Tronica City to Fatehpur Jat. The total 16 km stretch can be covered in about 45 minutes by water, this would ordinarily take about 3.5 hours by road.
IWAI chairman Prabir Pande also said, "The Principal Committee of the National Green Tribunal gave a No Objection Certificate to the project. The land acquisition with the Uttar Pradesh and Delhi governments is in an advanced stage. It will take a few months, and after the acquisition, we will start the trial of the vessel." An official involved in the project told Times of India, &ldquoDuring pilot run we will either hire the boats engaged by the National Cadet Corps or hire from the agencies that provide such motorised boats. Once the infrastructure and jetties are ready, we will bring in vessels that run on both electricity (using battery power) and diesel.&rdquo
Delhiites can at last revel in some good news
