Chhath Puja 2024: Toxic foam in Yamuna sparks health concerns—Purvanchalis question how to take the holy dip

Chhath Puja 2024: The festival of Chhath is near. In Delhi, a large number of people from Bihar and Purvanchal live, who celebrate this festival with great devotion and faith.

The festival of Chhath is near. In Delhi, a large number of people from Bihar and Purvanchal live, who celebrate this festival with great devotion and faith. People are already showing great enthusiasm for this festival. But, if they look at the current state of Yamuna, their enthusiasm may dwindle, as the Yamuna River has turned into a chemical foam. The white foam of Yamuna is visible from afar, which raises questions about the claims of the Delhi government that they have taken several steps to clean the Yamuna.

People’s question: how will we celebrate Chhath?

Local social worker Hitashi Kaushik said, on the pollution of Yamuna, “70% of the contribution to Yamuna’s pollution comes from Delhiites, and when Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister, he had said that he would clean the Yamuna so much that he would take a dip in it himself. But, nothing like that is happening. Chhath is approaching, and the question is, how will people celebrate this festival?”

Large-scale corruption in the name of Yamuna cleaning

Another social worker, Khwinder Singh Captain, said, “In Delhi, there are 31 water treatment plants, out of which 27 are not working, and there is large-scale corruption in the companies that have been given the contract. The Kejriwal government is not serious about it. They say they will clean the Yamuna, but they are not doing anything. They have ruined Delhi.”

Rs 67,000 crore spent on cleaning

Mayank Girdhar said, “I think we are also responsible for polluting the Yamuna. The pollution is coming from factories. If we reduce the demand for the things being produced in these factories, the pollution will automatically stop. It is being said that Rs 67,000 crore has been spent on cleaning the Yamuna, but I don’t think such a large amount has been spent. The government should first shut down these factories.”