NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) barred Chhath puja celebrations at the banks of the river Yamuna, Aam Aadmi Party MLA and the party’s in-charge of the Delhi unit Purvanchal organisation Sanjeev Jha on Saturday wrote to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, urging him to “allow” the same. Jha said that he has also sought time from the L-G to discuss the issue.
“I have been told by top officials that the DDMA has barred the permission to allow celebrations at the ghat, owing to the fact that it would add to the pollution in the river and instead designate sites with artificial ponds just like the time of Durga Puja and Ganesh Chaturthi.
However, I want to highlight the fact that Chhath puja unlike the other two festivals does not include any immersion of idols insted it focuses on cleaning up of the river banks,” stated the letter dated October 30.
Chhath Puja had become a point of political slugfest between the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the latter attacking the government for not allowing public celebrations of Chhath till the DDMA order came on Friday.
The approval from the DDMA, which devises Covid-19 management policies in the national capital, came after a meeting among its top officials on Friday. Senior BJP leader Manoj Tiwari on Friday attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not allowing the celebrations at the river banks and said that it has “hurt” the sentiments of the Purvanchalis.