Delhi: Devotees perform rituals in toxic foam-laden Yamuna on final day of Chhath Puja
This comes just a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging decision to prohibit the devotees from performing Chhath Puja on the banks of the toxic foam-laden Yamuna.
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Meanwhile, the political tussle between the ruling AAP in the national capital and the BJP continued after the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) order prohibited devotees from performing the rituals at the ghats of the Yamuna to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday reached the Yamuna ghat at Sonia Vihar and said he would not follow the orders, adding that nobody could stop the people from performing the rituals.
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Tiwari's visit to the Yamuna ghat came on the third day of the four-day-long festival. Denying to follow the order of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) prohibiting celebrations of Chhath Puja at public places due to the threat of Covid-19, Tiwari said, "We will not follow the DDMA order. No one can stop us from performing our rituals. The DDMA's work is to clean the Yamuna and not to ban people from going there."
BJP West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma had also reached the Yamuna ghat at Delhi's ITO on Wednesday. "Earlier police placed barricades here and stopped people. We came here and allowed their entry. We arranged clean water here. I am happy that people are performing their rituals of Chhath Puja," said Verma.
A hazardous foam was floating on the Yamuna due to increased ammonia levels and high phosphate content, caused by the discharge of industrial pollutants including detergents into the river.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha has blamed the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for the pollution in the Yamuna river.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Government has deployed boats to remove the toxic foam that was formed in the Yamuna.
-PTC News
