Built, razed, built again: DDA demolishes mystery road on Yamuna after HT report

Senior officials of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Friday rushed to demolish a road made of debris that had reappeared on the Yamuna within a month.

The move came a day after Hindustan Times reported that the path had reappeared again under the Delhi Metro bridge between Yamuna Bank and Indraprastha.

“Our team rushed to the spot after the report was published. The road will be demolished completely,” said Udai Pratap Singh, DDA, vice chairman

The DDA had earlier demolished the road that was choking the river after Hindustan Times first reported about it on August 31.

Ecologists and environment activists, however, accused authorities of lax monitoring.

A team of seven DDA officials are now monitoring the site. The road is being razed using excavators and the debris is being taken away in lorries and trucks. The road that cuts through the river connecting its banks on either side is such that officials say it would take days to dismantle it completely.

“Since the road has reappeared in a very short period of time, we will beef up vigilance in the area. It will take us three days to demolish the entire stretch,” said Sompal (who goes by his first name), executive engineer (eastern division II).

When officials were first razing the road last month, they had stumbled upon a large ditch on the river island from where they suspected sand was being mined illegally. The road was being used to transport sand from the island to the river banks.

“It is evident that the road has been rebuilt by dumping fresh debris. It is a brazen violation of the National Green Tribunal’s directions,” said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, a group campaigning to save the Yamuna, one of the filthiest rivers in India.

The road will choke the river’s natural flow, which can turn into an environmental disaster.

“The river would start depositing silt on its bed upstream and become shallow. It would then flood the banks…,” ecologist CR Babu said.