With just three days left for Chhath Puja, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Atishi on Thursday said the toxic foam on the Yamuna will be cleared in the next one or two days. She also asked the Uttar Pradesh government to stop the release of dirty water in the river.
"The work of clearing the foam on the Yamuna river is going on. Using boats, Delhi Jal Board teams are spraying chemicals and enzymes to remove the foam, and it will be cleared in one or two days. But I want to urge the Uttar Pradesh government to not release polluted water. The water that is coming towards Kalindi Kunj side of the river is from the Uttar Pradesh barrage," Atishi said, as reported by PTI.
AAP MLA Somnath Bharti also inspecte Yamuna River at Kalindi Kunj barrage and said, "Foam in Yamuna River is being created downstream because the water is falling from a height. The foam is harmless and chemical dosing is being done to remove the foam from river water."
However, video of toxic foam floating over the surface of Yamuna River continues to surface on social media.
The remarks by the senior AAP leader Atishi comes after BJP at a press conference on Wednesday cited heavy pollution in the Yamuna river and accused the ruling party of hurting religious sentiments of people of Delhi.
The white froth in Yamuna has hurt the sentiments of the Purvanchali people who will celebrate Chhath Puja three days later, said Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.
While Former Delhi BJP president and MP Manoj Tiwari hitting out at AAP said, Chhath is a festival of nature and those saying it pollutes the river are "fools".
He also accused AAP of giving an affidavit in court that said Chhath Puja lead to pollution in the Yamuna and that celebrations should not be allowed.