Chhath festival in Delhi for past couple of years has witnessed controversies to be celebrated on the banks of Yamuna, given the pandemic and hazardous pollutants in the river. This year, the festival is set to get back its old flavour and will be celebrated along the Yamuna at 1,100 ghats in the city.
According to an official statement, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has agreed to the Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot’s proposal to permit Chhath Puja celebrations at various ghats along the Yamuna in Delhi.
According to the statement, all district magistrates have been given instructions to take additional measures to ensure that no polluting materials are dumped into the river in light of the approval.
The NGT’s guidelines may be enforced through the use of measures like banners, posters, audio messages at locations, and the deployment of Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs), it was added.
The construction of Puja ghats near the Yamuna and the offerings made by pilgrims at these ghats had previously raised concerns that they might cause river pollution.
According to the statement, the government had been made aware of a number of orders and instructions issued by the National Green Tribunal and the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
This year, the government has set up 1,100 ghats along the river.
No other material is needed to be offered or immersed in rivers, canals, or ponds during the traditional celebration of Chatth Puja, which involves offering water to the “Sun God.”
According to the statement, the district administration will also see to it that messages encouraging people to follow the rules for maintaining the cleanliness of the Yamuna may be shown on LED systems at all Chhath ghats on the Yamuna in addition to other customary messages.
“Chhath Puja will be celebrated like before on the ghats of Yamuna. Orders have been given to all the officers that all arrangements be made to ensure that Yamuna is not polluted,” Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
Thanking the chief minister, Gahlot tweeted, “I thank Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal for allowing Chhath Puja on the ghats of Yamuna. With the blessings of Chhathi Maiyya, we will ensure this time a grand celebration of Chhath Puja at all the 1,100 Ghats in Delhi.”
Last month, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Hands Tiwari had written to Delhi LG VK Saxena to ensure timely cleaning of Yamuna river ahead of the Chhath festival celebration post-Diwali.
Festival in foam
It is known that foam appearing in the Yamuna is a big problem in Delhi. It comes to the fore every year when pictures come out of people performing Chhath Puja standing amidst white foam.
Last year, Delhi government had deployed boats to remove toxic foam that was formed in the Yamuna river in a face-saving exercise amid severe criticism after Chhath puja devotees were seen taking a dip in the river.
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Environmentalists, political parties and people of Delhi had raised concerns over the appalling situation. The hazardous foam floating on the Yamuna river was the result of increased ammonia levels and high phosphate content that is caused by the discharge of industrial pollutants including detergents into the river.
(With inputs from agencies)
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