Fishermen navigate through polluted foam as they cast nets to catch fish in the Yamuna river. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh on Friday commissioned an ‘Amphibian Multipurpose Dredger Watermaster’ machine along with three Hopper Barges in the Najafgarh Drain to clean its polluted water before entering the River Yamuna.
The Minister said that the initiative marks a decisive shift towards technology-driven, large-scale and sustained action to address silt, sludge, floating waste, and hyacinth accumulation in Delhi’s major drains.
The Amphibian Multipurpose Dredger, sourced from Finland, is a versatile machine capable of operating efficiently from dry land to water depths of up to six metres and it can be deployed for dredging, raking, piling, sludge removal, and aquatic weed clearance, making it particularly suitable for complex and congested drain systems like the Najafgarh Drain, as per the government.
“Najafgarh Drain is the biggest contributor to Yamuna pollution. If we are serious about cleaning the river, this drain has to be treated with the best available technology and continuous monitoring. Amphibian Dredger represents a global standard in dredging operations. Our approach is outcome-based. If the performance of this machinery meets expectations, more such advanced machines will be deployed at different locations across the Yamuna River and its drains,” the Minister said.
Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that a consensus has been reached on strengthening Yamuna cleaning through biogas plants and installing Effluent Treatment Plans (ETPs) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in industries.
Published – January 17, 2026 03:20 am IST
