New Delhi: Delhi is set to get a new tourist attraction with the launch of a recreational river cruise on the Yamuna. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the service at Sonia Vihar on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will be present. The cruise will run along the Sonia Vihar-Jagatpur stretch of the river and is meant to promote river-based tourism in the capital.
Ministers of State Shantanu Thakur (Ports, Shipping and Waterways) and Harsh Malhotra (Road Transport and Highways) will also attend, along with Delhi ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh (Public Works and Irrigation and Flood Control) and Kapil Mishra (Tourism). MP Manoj Tiwari and senior officials of the Central and Delhi governments will be there too.
The Yamuna has been declared National Waterway-110 under the National Waterways Act, 2016, and the cruise is a step towards using it for recreational navigation and river tourism. Trial runs of the cruise vessel were completed successfully last month in the presence of senior officials from the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Delhi Government.
The service is led by IWAI under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, which says it is working to promote sustainable inland water transport and make waterways part of urban mobility and tourism. It is being developed with the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi Government’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
The initiative is expected to give Delhi residents and tourists a new experience and bring the public closer to the Yamuna. The cruise vessels are electric-powered, which the authorities say shows how inland waterways can support clean and sustainable travel.