Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav on Tuesday alleged that garbage and pollution have choked Bhalswa Lake and that the polluted state of the Yamuna ghat at ITO reveals the inadequate preparations made by the AAP government for the lakhs of devotees expected for Chhath Puja.
The Congress leader visited the sites to inspect the Delhi government’s preparations for the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals, during which he voiced these criticisms.
Yadav stated that although lakhs of devotees will gather to perform Chhath Puja in these polluted waters, the government has taken no meaningful action to clean the water bodies or the Yamuna. He accused the government of making empty promises and engaging in blame games instead.
During Yadav’s visit, Congress workers raised slogans and held placards bearing the message, “AAP Ko Saaf Karegi Yamuna” (AAP will lose in the assembly elections due to the Yamuna’s pollution).
Yadav further claimed that shortly after coming to power, Kejriwal had promised, during an aarti at the Yamuna in November 2015, to clean the river and even vowed to take a dip in it during Chhath Puja by 2025. However, he argued, ten years later, the Yamuna has only become more toxic.
“People can’t even approach the river’s polluted waters without risking illness. This was evident when Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva was hospitalized after taking a dip in the Yamuna at the ITO ghat,” he added.