Urban Précis

River Yamuna enters Delhi at its northern border with the state of Haryana. The location of entry is known as Palla. The river flows 48 kilometres in Delhi before leaving from the southern border at Okhla barrage. First 26 km of river’s flow in the city-state are unobstructed, free from pollution too. Wazirabad barrage is the first obstruction to flow of the river in the city, it is also a major catchment for municipal supply within the city. Further 22 km flow of Yamuna in Delhi is impeded by urban activities including extensive bridging of the flood plain, discharge of treated and untreated sewerage flows.

The 22 km stretch between Wazirabad barrage and Okhla barrage has 14 existing bridges and 2 more are under construction. This means a bridge every 1.35 km on average. These operational bridges are listed as below –

1. Wazirabad Barrage (Road)
2. Signature Bridge (Road)
3. Yudhishtir Setu at Kashmiri Gate ISBT (Road)
4. Red Line between Kashmiri Gate and Shastri Park (Metro)
5. Old Yamuna Bridge (Rail and Road)
6. Rajghat – Geeta Colony Bridge (Road)
7. Vikas Marg between ITO and Lakshmi Nagar (Road)
8. Blue Line between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank (Metro)
9. Pragati Maidan – Purana Qila Bridge (Rail)
10. Nizammudin Road Bridge (Road)
11. Pink Line between Nizammudin and Mayur Vihar (Metro)
12. Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Flyway (Road)
13. Okhla Barrage (Road)
14. Magenta Line between Kalindi Kunj and Okhla Bird Sanctuary (Metro)

The upcoming bridges are –

1. Extension of Barapullah Elevated Corridor to East Delhi
2. New Yamuna Bridge as a replacement for Old Yamuna Bridge’s railway traffic.

Incidentally, of all the bridges over the Yamuna in Delhi only the Old Yamuna Bridge or the Iron Bridge spans the entire floodplain of the river while all other bridges are pseudo bridges and span only the perennial flow of the river and remaining is covered by a bund, which obstructs the flow of water in the river. This situation is a hazard – both from an environmental as well as safety perspective and can add to flood vulnerability.