At first glance, it looked like people playing with rising waves on a beach. But a closer look showed that it was toxic, hazardous foam. People were seen standing knee-dip in this white foam on the banks of the Yamuna river in Delhi this morning on the first day of Chhath Puja celebrations.
A video tweeted by news agency ANI shows four women standing the midst of the toxic foam and bathing in the extremely polluted Yamuna waters near Kalindi Kunj in the national capital. They even collected the water in a mug and poured it over their head.
“Why are the national capital's river beds no as well managed as the other industrial cities?” a Twitter user said.
“That's harmful...entering should be prohibited by guards or police personnel,” Twitter user Pragya Tiwari said.
The Yamuna river in Delhi is highly polluted due to constant industrial and sewage discharge into its waters. An increase in ammonia levels in the water had on Sunday led to disruption in water supply in parts of Delhi.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has prohibited Chhath Puja on the banks of the Yamuna this year.
The DDMA had last week allowed Chhath celebrations at ''designated sites'' excluding Yamuna banks in Delhi in a meeting attended by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while the Delhi government declared November 10 a public holiday on Chhath festival.
Chhath, celebrated after Diwali by people belonging to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, involves the offering of 'Arghya' by fasting women to the Sun god in knee-deep water. It involves elaborate rituals spanning over three days.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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