This year, just before Chhath Puja, the Yamuna looked unusually calm. The thick layer of froth that had covered the river for weeks suddenly disappeared. News channels called it a miracle. The new BJP-led Delhi government under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was praised for “cleaning” the river and restoring its sanctity.
Few bothered to ask how. The truth was simple. Some extra water had been released from the Hathni Kund Barrage upstream, and chemicals were sprayed to break the foam. The froth disappeared for the cameras, not because the river had been cleaned, but because its pollution was temporarily diluted. The Yamuna was made to ‘look’ better, not ‘become’ better.
In reality, this cosmetic clean-up became part of a larger show, a city trying to impress its voters, or perhaps relatives of Delhi Voters, who lived in Bihar. With the Bihar elections approaching, and Delhi’s large Bihari population preparing for Chhath Puja, a clean-looking Yamuna became politically important. Clearly Yamuna turned into a prop, in this political theatre.