The crores spent after the cleansing of Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati river cannot clear the wild spread of water hyacinth, as the lowered water level revealed a cover of the green plant, prompting a halt to the operation of the floating restaurant in the river.
To keep the water level down in the river during the monsoon season, the doors of the Vasna barrage are opened. This move, however, not only lowered the water level of the river but also brought up the underlying water hyacinth to the surface.
The water hyacinth is especially prevalent in waters between Subhash Bridge and Ambedkar Bridge. Since it can damage the operation of the boat, the floating restaurant has been halted till the plant is cleared off.
The spread of water hyacinth, however, creates doubts over the claims of cleaning the river, which is supposedly costing crores.