Yamuna Recreational Cruise Service Launched in Delhi

Delhi got its first recreational river cruise on 10 November 2026, when Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal opened the Recreational Yamuna River Cruise Service at Sonia Vihar. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was present at the ceremony.

What the service offers

The cruise runs along the Sonia Vihar-Jagatpur reach of the river. A single electric vessel with seating for 30 passengers takes visitors on a round trip of nearly 6 kilometres. Because the boat runs on battery power rather than diesel, the ministry presented it as an example of clean mobility on India’s inland waters.

More than a boat ride

• A musical fountain with a light and sound presentation traces the river’s heritage, including its links with Surya Dev, Yama and Shri Krishna’s Kaliya Daman.
• The site has a food court, a shopping area and a play zone for children.
• Adventure activities include skating and rock climbing.
• Floating jetties, ticket counters, online booking, restrooms, waiting areas and lit approach paths have been built for visitors.

The waterway behind it

The Yamuna carries the label National Waterway-110, notified under the National Waterways Act of 2016, and the cruise is the first step towards using that waterway for leisure boating in the capital. Sonowal said rivers were turning into drivers of tourism, trade and livelihoods, while the Chief Minister said the riverfront would be built up as a public destination with better amenities.

Inland waterways in numbers

Freight costs about Rs 1.06 per tonne-kilometre by water, against Rs 1.41 by rail and Rs 2.28 by road, which makes river transport the cheapest of the three. The ministry also recalled MV Ganga Vilas, listed in the Limca Book of Records as the longest river cruise in the world; it sailed more than 3,200 km through India and Bangladesh, touching 50 tourist spots, five states and 27 river systems. The Inland Waterways Authority of India built the Yamuna service with the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, the Delhi Jal Board and the city’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department.