Several devotees offered ‘Araghya’ to the rising sun as toxic foam floated on the banks of polluted Yamuna river in the national capital during Chhath Puja celebrations on Monday morning. In pictures and videos shared on social media, large amounts of the toxic foam can be seen floating in the river as devotees stood knee-deep in it.
According to officials, the toxic foam is due to the high phosphate content in the river, which can cause skin and respiratory problems.
Despite several promises made by Delhi’s Aam Aadmi party (AAP) government to clean the Yamuna river, the polluting situation keeps making a comeback. Ahead of the Chhath Puja celebrations, AAP minister Atishi had inspected the Burari Ghat and assured that the froth in the Yamuna will be cleared soon.
“To remove that (toxic foam), sprinkling of food-grade chemicals and enzymes is being done there. The sprinkling team started the sprinkling work on 10 boats last night. In the next two days, the toxic foam will completely vanish…But I would like to urge the Uttar Pradesh government to not send its polluted water to Delhi,” Atishi told ANI.
Meanwhile, AAP MLA and vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board Somnath Bharti also inspected the Kalindi Kunj ghar and asserted that the foam is “harmless”.
Chhath Puja festival
The four-day festival of Chhath began on Friday and is regarded as the festival of purity, goodwill, and faith. During this festival, devotees worship and make offerings to the setting and rising sun. On the first day of the festival, devotees observe ‘Nahaye Khaye’, while on the second day ‘Lohanda’ and ‘Kharna’ is observed. On the third day, devotees offer ‘Sandhya Arghya’ to the setting sun. On the last day, they offer their ‘Usha Arghya’ to the rising sun.
The festival is celebrated every year in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, and Bengal, and witnesses a high participation rate of women.
(With inputs from agencies)
