Even amid District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) guidelines barring devotees from performing Chhatt Puja on the ghats of Yamuna, visuals of crowds taking a dip in the froth-filled, toxic Yamuna emerged online on Wednesday, 10 November.
Vikas Rai, President of Chhath Pooja Samiti in Kalindi Kunj spoke to news agency ANI stating, "Chhath celebrations are not allowed at Yamuna ghats. Few devotees who came here have been asked to leave by the police."
This came after the Delhi government deployed 15 boats to dissipate the toxic foam in the river ahead of the religious ceremony on Wednesday morning, ANI reported.
New Delhi: Hindu devotees offer prayers as part of the rituals of four-day long Chhath Puja celebrations, as toxic foam floats on the surface of polluted Yamuna river at Kalindi Kunj, in New Delhi on Monday.
(Photo: PTI/Kamal Kishore)
Later in the day, videos from South Delhi's Kalindi Kunj captured bamboo barricades being placed in the river in an attempt to prevent the foam from floating towards the banks.
Meanwhile, a Delhi Jal Board employee was tasked with 'sprinkling water' in the river to clear out the hazardous froth. "We are sprinkling water in the Yamuna to dissipate toxic foam," Ashok Kumar told ANI.
In Sonia Vihar, the entry to banks of the Yamuna was reportedly barricaded in the wake of the DDMA order.
The white, toxic foam enveloping the river is caused by high levels of ammonia and increased phosphate content due to industrial pollutants.
BJP Minister Flouts Curbs, Urges People To Come to Yamuna
Flouting restrictions imposed by Delhi authorities, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh trespassed barricading on Wednesday and poured water in the Yamuna Ghat at ITO.
He asserted, "MCD, DDA have given permission to celebrate Chhath... Why is Delhi government not permitting to celebrate Chhath at ITO, which is the oldest ghat in Delhi? Why are we being stopped?"
Urging everyone to visit the ghat he claimed that he will look after their safety.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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