PremiumIn the video, Manoj Tiwari is seen riding the boat in which river Yamuna is covered with a thick layer of toxic foam. The foam in the Yamuna is due to the rise in ammonia level
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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoj Tiwari rode a boat in the Yamuna river during the Chhath festival on Monday to take a dig at the Delhi government on river pollution. In the video, Tiwari is seen riding the boat in which river Yamuna is covered with a thick layer of toxic foam. The foam in the Yamuna is due to the rise in ammonia level, which has also affected water supply in several parts of the national capital.
Taking a jibe at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's government, the BJP MP from Northeast Delhi said, "The Delhi government is not bothered about this development. Delhi government bans people from coming to ghats but makes false claims of cleaning it. The Supreme Court should take a suo -motu cognisance on this matter".
Chhath Puja is an Indian festival that is celebrated after Diwali by people belonging to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. It involves the offering of 'Arghya' by fasting women to the Sun god in knee-deep water.
Tiwari visited Yamuna ghat at Kalindi Kunj and said that the Kejriwal dispensation banned Chhath at Yamuna banks to hide it's "failure" to clean the river
"Kejriwal is misleading people by taking cover of DDMA order and high levels of ammonia in Yamuna. His only aim is to hurt the faith of Purvanchali community," he alleged.
On October 29, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had allowed the devotees to perform Chhath Puja at designated spots in the national capital, but banned the celebration on the banks of the Yamuna River.
However, the Delhi BJP leadership objected to the DDMA's decision. Tiwari had said he was "stunned" to know that devotees are not allowed to worship on the banks of the Yamuna during Chhath celebrations.
There are over 1,000 Chhath ghats across the city of which 10-15 major ghats are located alongside the Yamuna. A majority of Chhath devotees of the city go to Chhath ghats along the Yamuna.
Yesterday, several BJP leaders including Tiwari performed rituals and launched preparations for Chhath Puja at the Yamuna Ghat.
Tiwari later also visited Sonia Vihar and claimed that clean water entered Delhi from Haryana but it was polluted heavily in the city flowing upto Kalindikunj.
AAP MLA and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) vice chairman Raghav Chadha claimed that 150 MGD of water that was not treated flowed from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh into Yamuna leading to sights of foam floating over the river surface.
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