Overview
- The Irrigation and Flood Control department commissioned the Watermaster amphibious machine at Dulsiras on January 16 to intensify mechanised desilting before discharge into the Yamuna.
- The dredger operates on land or in water up to six metres deep, dredges silt, pumps sludge, and removes floating garbage and water hyacinth at roughly 600 cubic metres per hour.
- Officials said the system can discharge pumped waste up to 1.5 km and features GPS tracking and fuel monitoring for oversight.
- Three self-propelled hopper barges of 12-cubic-metre capacity are in service to transport and unload dredged material, procured for about ₹5.25 crore.
- The dredger cost about ₹8.04 crore, and the focus on Najafgarh targets what officials describe as nearly 70% of the Yamuna’s pollution load from untreated inflows.