CITY LEVEL PROJECTS YAMUNA RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT Indraprastha Zone (An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certiied Organisation) Delhi Urban Art Commission Prof. Dr. P.S.N. Rao Chairman Sonali Bhagwati Member Samir Mathur Member Sonali Rastogi Member Durga Shanker Mishra Member & Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development Vinod Kumar Secretary DUAC Staf Rajeev Kumar Gaur, Raghvendra Singh, Amit Mukherji, V. K.Tyagi, Uma Bhati, Nishi Sachdeva, Manju Anjali, Siddharth Sagar, Indu Rawat, Nihal Chand Senior Consultant Samir Mathur Consultants Ranu Farooqui Monika Soota (3D Visulizer) Nikhil Pandey (3D Visulizer) Preface DELHI URBAN ART COMMISSION with gratitude duly acknowledges the valuable contributions of the following in making this report: Raj Rewal Former Chairman, DUAC The city of Delhi, capital of this vast land of diversities, is a city laden with layers of history, Satish Khanna Former Member, DUAC Eric P. Mall Former Member, DUAC a place where civilizations have lived, prospered and perished over centuries. The modern D. Diptivilasa Former Member DUAC & Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development city today, built over and around a rich tapestry of heritage, presents an opportunity at every turn, to allow for co-existence of the past, present and the future. In order to understand this multidimensional urban spectrum and attempt to plan the future, various Organisations/Others city level studies have been initiated by the DUAC. I hope that these studies will help Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India the planners of modern day Delhi to carefully articulate urban space, structure, form and Delhi Development Authority environment and sensitively address future requirements. Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi I convey my thanks to all the Consultants and Members of the Commission who have North Delhi Municipal Corporation tirelessly worked on this research project to bring out this document. I also take this East Delhi Municipal Corporation opportunity to place on record my sincere appreciation of the efforts of Secretary and South Delhi Municipal Corporation other staff of DUAC for providing the necessary administrative support to make this New Delhi Municipal Council happen. Geospatial Delhi Limited I fondly hope that the authorities of the local, state and national government take these Delhi Metro Rail Corporation studies seriously and implement, in right earnest, the suggestions given herein. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board BSES Rajdhani Power Limited March, 2015 Sd/- BSES Yamuna Power Limited Prof. Dr. P.S.N. Rao RWA Chairman, DUAC Summary Contents Rivers are an inherent part of the development of the human settlement. They have been fundamentally involved in the process of settlement location and its continuous formation. The greatest civilizations of the Section 1 6 1 world have formed and lourished along the banks of rivers. Whether it was the Egyptian civilization along the 1.1 River Yamuna 6 Nile River or the Indus valley civilization, rivers have been vital as the providers of water for sustaining life as 1.2 River Yamuna - In Delhi 8 well as the agrarian societies. Thus strong relationships existed between man and rivers, the later often being 1.3 Delhi - Metro Routes 10 revered as Gods, not only in ancient times but till date. From daily activities to religious ceremonies, fairs and 1.4 Delhi - Planning Zones 11 festivals, the river formed an integral part of human life. 1.5 Zone ‘O’ - Land Use 12 Monuments developed along the banks of river. Delhi’s oldest city, Indraprastha, dating to the Mahabharata 1.6 Zone ‘O’ – Sub Zones 14 era (circa 1450 BC), to the great Mughal city of Shahjahanabad (1638–1649), all were set with the Yamuna 1.7 Recommendations For Zone ‘O’ 16 and other water bodies as their backdrop. The major monuments of the city of Delhi present strong 1.8 Delhi - Evolution of A City 18 evidences of the relationship of the past cities with the river. However with the 20th century and modernist city planning paradigms, the river was considered more as a functional component rather than recreational, Section 2 22 2 with which the masses had no everyday connection. The city faced its back to the river. 2.1 Proposed Area of Development 24 Today, with the abysmal state of drainage and solid-waste management of the city, the Yamuna has become a 2.2 Site Potential 25 huge drain carrying the waste of this mega city. Millions of rupees have been spent by successive governments 2.3 Site Challenges 26 in order to clean the river, but to no signiicant change in the situation. The spaces around the river are also 2.4 Immediate Context 28 rather ‘lost spaces’ with either agricultural ields, derelict power stations, stadiums and memorials. 2.5 Potential Entrance Nodes 30 With very high densities in the residential areas, it has to be realized that Delhi is in dire need of a large 2.6 Land Use: Institutional 32 public open space. The study aims at reconnecting the city to the river not only metaphorically, but to 2.7 Road Network : Circulation 42 establish physical linkages and improve the quality of the environment and create opportunities to activate 2.8 Activity Pattern 45 the riverfront. 2.9 Density Study: West Bank vs East Bank 46 2.10 Comparitive Site Study 49 2.11 Historical Significance 50 3 Section 3 52 3.1 Design Concept 52 3.2 Design Study : Entrance Nodes 54 3.3 Case Study 62 3.4 Existing Landscape Character 66 3.5 Proposed Policy for Landscape Design 69 3.6 Design Proposal - Plan 76 4 Annexure 98 Aim and Objectives CONNECTING the City back to its River using Landscape Creating PHYSICAL ACCESS to the River Improve quality of ENVIRONMENT, opportunity for RECREATION. CONSERVE places of historic signiicance. 1.1 River Yamuna Mythological History Yamunotri According to legend, the Yamuna is SECtion 1 SECtion the daughter of Surya (the Sun God) 1 SECtion and his wife Saranya, and the twin sister of Yama (the God of Death). New Delhi A dip in the Yamuna is believed to free a person from all past sins and contaminations of the material world. As a part of timeless civilization, Agra the River Yamuna, other than being a traditional water source, is also a Allahabad cultural icon and is worshipped as a Goddess in Indian culture. Many temple towns are situated along her banks and their characters SECTION 1 SECTION are based on the river. Yamuna: in Mathura The Mahabharata also mentions Ghats located on the River Yamuna in Mathura. There are total number of 25 ghats in Mathura. Yamuna as being one of the seven tributaries of the Ganges. Bathing in and drinking Yamuna’s waters is Yamuna River Map Yamuna: at Yamunotri, its source believed to remove sin since time immemorial. Later, Yamuna is associated with the God Krishna. Krishna’s association with the river began right from his birth, when he let her surging waters touch his feet. Folklore and stories about his childhood and youth are told and retold today with a pure and beautiful Yamuna as the backdrop; this is further reinforced through most of our traditional and folk poetry and dance forms. According to legend, Yamunotri Temple and Ashram Krishna jumped into the river to Yamuna: in Agra tame the poisonous Kaliya snake, In Agra, the Yamuna forms the backdrop to one of the world’s seven wonders, who was polluting the river with his the Taj Mahal. noxious fumes. Mythology is a complex science. Century-old tales and stories can be interpreted by generation after generation with their ever complicated contexts and changing Location of Major Cities River monitoring stations ethos. Kaliya’s modern day WYC Western Yamuna Canal EYC Eastern Yamuna Canal equivalents are the industrial units that release efluents into the river. Yamuna River: Delhi Stretch Yamuna near the Himalayas (Image Source: Google) Origin The Yamuna begins at Yamunotri, north of Haridwar, in the Himalayas. The source of the Yamuna technically is Saptrishi Kund, a glacial lake. At Tajewala, 75 km upstream of Wazirabad, there is a barrage for the waters of the river to low Yamuna: in Allahabad into the Western and the Eastern Yamuna Canal. The Yamuna enters Delhi from Palla Village, at a height of 211 metres Her conluence with the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati rivers at Triveni Sangam is a above sea level. It exits the city at 197 metres above sea level, thus lowing along a very gentle gradient of 1 in 3000. very holy pilgrimage spot. (Image Source: Google) 6 CITY LEVEL PROJECT YAMUNA RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT 7 1.2 River Yamuna - In Delhi The Main Sources of Pollution in the Yamuna The Delhi stretch of River Yamuna is barely 22 kms of its entire 1,370-km long journey from Yamunotri (its SECtion 1 SECtion birthplace) to the ocean. Although barely 2 per cent of 1 SECtion the length of the river basin, it contributes to over 80 per cent of the pollution load in the entire stretch of the river. There is no water in the river for virtually nine months of the year. Delhi impounds water at the barrage constructed at Wazirabad where the river enters the city. What lows in the river subsequently is only sewage and waste from Delhi’s 22 drains. In other words, the river ceases to exist at Wazirabad. 1. Industrial wastewaters Wazirabad Barrage 2. Dumping of garbage 3. Immersion of idols 22 KMS ITO Barrage 4. Unauthorized settlements on riverbed 5. Bathing cattle Okhla Barrage Increasing pollution load is deteriorating the water quality of River Yamuna. Domestic wastewater, agricultural runoffs, mass bathing, offering of religious materials, clay idols, etc., increases the pollution. Due to the presence of large numbers of towns and cities along the banks of the Yamuna, which use the river to dump waste makes its condition even worse.