NEW DELHI: After a thick layer of toxic foam accumulated on the Yamuna river near Kalindi Kunj on Monday, cleaning operations were started. Fresh visuals with the white froth highlighted the persistent pollution concerns surrounding the river.
Cleaning operations are being carried out in the affected stretch to remove the foam, officials said.
Formation of toxic foam along the Yamuna near the Kalindi Kunj barrage in southeast Delhi, particularly during winter months, has been attributed to high levels of pollutants, including detergents and untreated sewage entering the river.
As the Chhath festival is approaching, BJP leader and northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari last week took a dip in the Yamuna to prove that the river is completely clean and with no toxic foam in the river.
He said, “How can we not appreciate the work that has been done here?… There might be crocodiles in water here, but crocodiles come only in clean water… I am just giving a message today. I am not a person who is doing this to shame Arvind Kejriwal.
Our goal is to give a clean Yamuna to the people of Delhi. I am overjoyed that in 1.5 years, with the blessings of PM Narendra Modi and under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, we made this possible.”
Later the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had challenged the BJP’s claims of having cleaned the Yamuna, with Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar finding the river covered in foam and filth during his visit.