A video has gone viral showing a woman washing her hair with toxic foam in the Yamuna River while taking a dip during Chhath Puja in Delhi. Several devotees immersed themselves in Yamuna for ritual baths despite thick layers of toxic foam covering its surface. The froth, a byproduct of untreated sewage and industrial waste mixing in the river, contains toxic chemicals and poses a significant health hazard.
The Delhi High Court has refused to allow devotees to perform the three-day puja at the river banks in the national capital. The court noted that the river was highly polluted and people might fall sick.
"Please understand you will fall sick. we can't allow you (devotees) to go into the water. It is highly polluted. It is a gigantic task, it cannot be done now. We can't clean up Yamuna in one day's time," a bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said.
The court was hearing a PIL by Purvanchal Nav Nirman Sansthan challenging the ban imposed by the Delhi government on Chhath puja celebrations at the banks of river Yamuna. Chhath Puja is a significant event for Delhi’s Purvanchali community, which consists of Bhojpuri-speaking residents from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The court referred to its recent order in another case in which judicial notice was taken about the fact that pollution in the Yamuna river was at an all-time high. "Keeping in view the aforesaid facts as well as the fact that the Chhath Puja festival commences from tomorrow, this court is of the view that no orders can be passed in the PIL. The same is accordingly dismissed," the bench said.