The ITO barrage, also Indraprastha barrage[ and ITO Bridge,][I. Mohan, 1992, Environment and Urban Development: A Critical Evaluation of Slums.] is a 552 meter[ barrage on Yamuna River, top of which also serves as the bridge on the Paharganj-Gaziabad Vikas marg.][ Construction of bridges over river yamuna .] Yamuna flows for 48 km in Delhi, including 22 km from Wazirabad barrage where it enters Delhi to Okhla barrage after which it enters Haryana.[spaenvis.nic.in/index1.aspx?lid=2284&mid=1&langid=1&linkid=550 30 June 2016.][Joginder Singh, 2010, India, Democracy and Disappointments, Page 504.][ Sharad K. Jain, Pushpendra K. Agarwal, Vijay P. Singh, 2007, Hydrology and Water Resources of India, Page 348.] Upstream barrage from ITO barrage in Delhi is Wazirabad barrage (north) and downstream is Okhla barrage (south).[ Okhla barrage to be shut at night for 45 days., Times of India, 20 Sept 2017.][1967, Annual Research Memoirs, Central Water and Power Research Station (India)]] Yamuna has a total of 6 barrages, from north-west to south-east, Dakpathar Barrage (Uttarakhand), Hathni Kund Barrage (172km from Yamunotri origin, replaced the older defunct Tajewala Barrage in Haryana), Wazirabad barrage (244km from Hathnikund to north Delhi), ITO barrage (central Delhi), Okhla barrage (22km from Wazirabad to south Delhi, "New Okhla barrage" is later-era new barrage) and Mathura barrage (at Gokul, Uttar Pradesh).[Bharati Chaturvedi, 2010, Finding Delhi: Loss and Renewal in the Megacity][ML Ahmed, Analysis of Discharge and Gauge-Level Data at Old Railway Bridge, Int'l Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Energy and Manufacturing Engineering (ICAEME’2014), 9-10 June 2014, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).][Bharati Chaturvedi, 2010, Finding Delhi: Loss and Renewal in the Megacity, Page 78.]
ITO barrage is under the management of the Haryana Government, whereas Wazirabad barrage is managed by Delhi and Okhla barrage is managed by UP Government.[ Too many cooks spoil the broth , The Hindu, 29 March 2016.]
History
In 1988, improved design of expansion joints for long span bridges was adopted at the ITO Barrage bridge to strengthen the load bearing capacity.[ Lok Sabha Debates, Page 115.] In 1989 the survey was carried out from Wazirabad barrage to ITO barrage and from ITO barrage to Okhla barrage, with a proposal to introduce ferry service after improving water channel, though no further action was taken.[2001, Delhi Urban Environment and Infrastructure Improvement Project (DUEIIP).] In early 2000s, HUDCO proposed to channelise Yamuna from ITO barrage to Okhla barrage, including developing commercial space.[Darshini Mahadevia, 2008, Inside the Transforming Urban Asia: Processes, Policies, and Public Actions.] Floodplain in this area is 2 to 3 km wide.[A.K. Jain, 2009, River Pollution, Page 16.] Prior to 2010, ITO Bridge and Nizamuddin Bridge were newly widened by constructing additional bridges parallel to the existing to ease the flow of traffic from the trans-Yamuna areas.[U. S. Jolly, 2010, Challenges for a Mega City: Delhi, a Planned City with Unplanned Growth.]
Usage
Vijay Ghat to the ITO barrage has several Raj Ghat and associated memorials samadhis as well as Indira Gandhi Arena that was used for the Asiad 1982.[1981, Design, Volume 25, Page 32.] ITO Barrage also serves as the ITO bridge, the most important bridge for intra-city movements across river Yamuna.[V. Thamizh Arasan, 2004, Proceedings of the International Conferences on Transportation Systems Planning and Operation, Volume 1.] The Yamuna water from ITO Barrage was used for the cooling of two units of Indraprastha Power Generation's thermal Rajghat Power Station.[A. K. Jain, 2009, River Pollution, Page 62.]
Navigation restoration
This barrage on Yamuna is part of National Waterway NW110, one of India's 111 National Waterways. Okhla barrage lies on the Delhi-Agra Yamuna canal waterway, from Okhla barrage to Agra via Agra Canal, steamer service is planned by the end of June 2017 with the help of Netherlands (c. Feb 2017).[ Steamer service to revive navigation in Agra Canal after 143 years, Hindustan Times, 1 February 2017.]
See also
