‘Take Chhath dip at Soorghat’: Congress challenges BJP over Yamuna pollution

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav on Friday accused the BJP-led Delhi Government of misleading Chhath devotees with claims of developing 1,400 ghats. He alleged that devotees at Soorghat in Wazirabad were being forced to perform rituals in polluted Yamuna water as untreated sewage continued to flow into the river.

During a visit to Soorghat to inspect preparations for Chhath Puja, Yadav said the Najafgarh drain was discharging untreated waste directly into the Yamuna, leaving its water highly polluted. He challenged BJP leaders and ministers to take a dip at Soorghat rather than Sonia Vihar to witness the actual condition of the river.

“If the real condition of the Yamuna is to be seen, BJP leaders should go and bathe at Soorghat in Wazirabad, not at places like Sonia Vihar, as drains fall directly into the river here,” he said. Yadav alleged that while the government was developing ghats at ITO by filling them with water brought in through tankers for VIP devotees, lakhs of devotees from Purvanchal were being left with no option but to take a dip in the contaminated Yamuna water.

He said the stretch of the river between Wazirabad and Okhla was littered with garbage and affected by untreated sewage and poor sanitation, contrary to the government’s claims of clean water and adequate arrangements for the festival.

The DPCC chief also alleged that basic facilities, including toilets, changing rooms and proper sanitation, were lacking at Soorghat. He said women devotees visiting the ghat had expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangements made by the administration. Questioning the government’s preparedness, Yadav said its claims of conducting surveys and ensuring facilities at 1,400 Chhath ghats did not reflect the situation on the ground.

Referring to North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari’s dip in the Yamuna at Sonia Vihar, Yadav said BJP leaders should visit Soorghat, where thousands of devotees were expected to perform rituals over the next three days. He also questioned the government’s efforts to clean the Yamuna, alleging that despite crores of rupees being spent over the years, the river remained polluted. He said the Delhi Government should have taken up the issue of releasing additional water into the Yamuna with the Haryana Government ahead of the festival.

Yadav also criticised the government’s decision to develop an 11-km Chhath ghat along the Munak Canal, alleging that the BJP was using the festival for political gains rather than addressing the concerns of devotees from Purvanchal.

He added that neither the previous Aam Aadmi Party government nor the incumbent BJP government had done enough to clean the Yamuna.