The minister held two important meetings on Tuesday. One was on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL). Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Tuesday waded into the row over not allowing Chhath Pooja on the banks of the Yamuna, saying the decision was akin to disrespecting the voters of Delhi.
“Both Kejriwal and the Delhi government are running away from their responsibility of cleaning the Yamuna. It is unfortunate that rather than cleaning it, they are asking women not to celebrate Chhath. Kejriwal is disrespecting voters of Delhi… It is unfortunate and painful that at the time of Chhath, the Yamuna is polluted. Kejriwal cannot escape from this sin of disrespecting the faith of the people,” he said.
Visuals of women praying amid foam on the river has led to a political slugfest between AAP and BJP, with the latter alleging that the Delhi government had banned the celebration on river banks because it wanted to hide the pollution. Permission, however, was denied by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, headed by the L-G.
Delhi Jal Board vice-chairperson Raghav Chadha, meanwhile, called the statement made by Shekhawat “unfortunate”.
“It is unfortunate that the Union Jal Shakti Minister is merely interested in making political statements on the issue of Yamuna pollution rather than bothering to call a single meeting between Delhi, UP and Haryana to understand the real problem and find a resolution. This statement reflects the tendency of the Modi government to hide their own failures and non-performance by making mere allegations,” he said.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai, meanwhile, inspected Chhath preparations at Bhalswa Lake and said tents, CCTVs and other facilities had been provided. Kalkaji MLA Atishi also inspected several Chhath ghats.
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