New Delhi: Photographs and videos of women taking dip in the poisonous foam floating on the Yamuna river have gone viral over the last couple of days.
Even as a political blame game has erupted, the Delhi government has set up bamboo barricades to stop such foam from floating towards the riverbank.
A strong cloth, tied between two boats, was used to sweep the foam towards the banks.
Watch the video posted by a Twitter user:
Now bamboo nets/barricades being installed to capture froth in #Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj. @we4earth@yamunajiye#Delhi #Yamuna #DelhiPollution pic.twitter.com/98qriFxmqO
— Gaurav Saini (@shadow_seagull) November 10, 2021
Keeping Chhat Puja in mind, Delhi Disaster Management Authority kept Yamuna out of bounds for the public as the Delhi government arranged special venues at 800 spots in the city where puja can be performed. But there have been violations in the last few days.
Besides bamboo barricades, 15 government-deployed boats were used on Wednesday to clean up toxic foam that has been forming due to rising pollution.
Concerned authorities also resorted to sprinkling of water at a fast pace to dissipate the froth at several places.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that the toxic foam on the Yamuna was a ‘gift’ to Delhi from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments.
AAP MLA Raghav Chadha said that the 105 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater from the Yamuna in Haryana and 50 MGD wastewater from the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, which merged into Okhla Barrage, contained industrial waste, untreated detergents and ammonia which resulted in formation of dirty foam. But despite the Delhi government writing to its counterpart in UP urging them to use irrigation technology and bioculture method, nothing had been done.
The BJP has refuted AAP’s claims, saying that it has failed to address the issue.
