NEW DELHI: Even as Chhath Puja is set to be observed later this week, the Delhi unit of the BJP on Tuesday said environment minister Gopal Rai had failed to tackle the toxic white foam coating the surface of the Yamuna.
“We were worried about air pollution but now a toxic foam has spread over Yamuna, disturbing Purvanchali migrants who were preparing to observe Chhath Puja,” its president Virendra Sachdeva said.
Chhath puja is celebrated on the sixth day after Diwali. It is one of the most popular festivals in eastern UP and Bihar.
Delhi government has hired a private agency to neutralise the toxic foam that floats over the Yamuna, an annual phenomenon posing serious threat to human and marine ecology, that often triggers a political blame-game, especially around Chhath Puja.
DJB recently floated a tender to neutralize the toxic froth floating in the river, which is of major concern for the devotees during Chhath Puja who take a dip in the river as a part of the ritual offering. A meeting was called where the tender was floated with a condition that the substance which will be used for the defoaming should be food grade.
However, as the foam continues to be present, Sachdeva lashed out at the AAP-led Delhi government for failing to deal with the issue. “Environment minister Gopal Rai is nothing more than an event manager whose only contribution is that he holds press conferences to make announcements but his ground performance against pollution is zero,” he said.