Sat Jun 21 20:09:48 UTC 2025: ## Delhi CM Promotes Yamuna River Cleanup on International Yoga Day
**New Delhi – June 22, 2025:** Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta led a yoga demonstration on the banks of the Yamuna River in Sonia Vihar on Saturday, marking International Yoga Day and highlighting her government’s efforts to revitalize the polluted waterway.
Accompanied by Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra, Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari, and other officials, Chief Minister Gupta emphasized the significance of choosing the location to demonstrate the improved state of the Yamuna. She stated her government is focused on making it pollution-free, and to make it cleaner.
“By performing yoga here, we want to give a message to the people of Delhi that Yamuna is getting cleaner,” the Chief Minister said.
Cleaning the Yamuna was a central promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the Delhi Assembly elections. Gupta outlined an ₹8,000 crore initiative involving 303 drainage projects including upgrading and managing stormwater drainage systems. She also reported the removal of thousands of tonnes of water hyacinth using modern technology and the planning stages of a cruise service on the river.
Gupta criticized previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress administrations for neglecting the Yamuna, stating, “Over the years, the city has seen many governments, but they did nothing for Maa Yamuna.”
Beyond the river cleanup efforts, the Chief Minister stressed the importance of incorporating yoga into daily life. She credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the global recognition of yoga, promoting healthy lifestyles through millet, reduced oil consumption, and yoga.
The Delhi government organized a large-scale Yoga day celebration, attracting over 20,000 participants, as an unprecedented event in Delhi. Gupta stated, “Witnessing youngsters perform yoga on boats was a deeply inspiring sight.”
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