Revenue Minister Atishi on Thursday inspected the Burari Ghat and said the froth in Yamuna river will be cleared in a day or two. The toxic foam in the river has become a major point of contention between the AAP government and the BJP ahead of Chhath Puja, which will be celebrated between November 17 and 20.
Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials said they have been using a defoaming agent approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clear the foam. “The chemical is safe for the environment,” an official said, adding that it had been sprayed over the river last year as well. The officer said that froth is seen in Yamuna only at Okhla barrage and not in other parts of the city. The DJB will also supply water in tankers at all major ghats.
During her inspection of the ghats that have been specially prepared by the State government for the Chhath Puja, Ms. Atishi said that the government had left “no stone unturned” in its preparations for the festival, adding that everything, from security to lighting to hygiene, had been taken care of.
The Minister also took a potshot at the Delhi BJP, which has been criticising the government for “shoddy” preparations in the run-up to the festival. “The BJP is making baseless accusations in the name of the Chhath festival. The truth is that the BJP never organised any Chhath event to date. Even when the BJP was in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, they did not organise any Chhath event,” Ms. Atishi said.
The Delhi BJP, however, slammed the Minister’s announcement on the preparations. “Not even a hundred ghats have been built,” said Delhi BJP vice-president and senior Purvanchali leader Dinesh Pratap Singh, adding that local puja committees had been forced to hire labour and personally develop the ghats.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor called the Minister a “master at jugglery”, adding that her government had developed a sample Chhath ghat at ITO West and tried to showcase it, but had failed in “misleading” the Purvanchali community.
Purvanchalis are Bhojpuri-speaking people from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and parts of Jharkhand. A large number of them have settled in Delhi, making them one of the largest voter bases in the Capital.
The Chhath Puja, which will end on November 20, will see a large number of devotees gather at the Yamuna ghats to offer prayers on November 19. To ensure a smooth celebration, the Delhi Police has deployed additional forces, set up special control rooms at two major railway stations, and have created a special helpline number.
