HighLights
  1. Thousands of dead fish found in Yamuna as Chhath Puja begins.
  2. AAP and BJP trade accusations over fish deaths, pollution.
  3. Locals blame tannery discharge; investigation demanded by AAP.

A political war of words has erupted between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after several dead fish were found floating in the Yamuna River ahead of Chhath Puja. Videos circulating on social media showed large numbers of dead fish floating in the river near Delhi's Sonia Vihar, raising concerns over water pollution. However, the exact cause of the fish deaths remains unclear.

The Delhi government accused the AAP of dumping dead fish into the river to defame the BJP government. The AAP, in response, said the BJP's claims of cleaning the Yamuna had been exposed and demanded an investigation into the fish deaths.

The incident comes a day after the launch of Delhi's first recreational river cruise service, the Namo Yamuna River Safari.

What Delhi Government Said

Delhi Environment Minister Parvesh Verma alleged that the dead fish were deliberately dumped into the Yamuna to defame the government. He accused the AAP of staging the incident and circulating videos to create a controversy.

"I am seeing dirty politics by the AAP. They are buying dead fish from the market and putting them in the river and posting videos to defame us," Verma said.

He claimed that officials had informed him about people dumping dead fish into the river a day after the ferry service began operating.

"The grand festival of Chhath is approaching, and they want to spoil its atmosphere. Mothers and sisters who will offer Arghya there stand inside the water. Arvind Kejriwal has stooped to this petty politics to ruin that entire atmosphere," he said.

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Verma also announced that the department would file an FIR and investigate who was behind the incident.

"I have instructed our department to register an FIR regarding this, and the department is filing an FIR today. An investigation will be conducted to find out who these people are, whether they are Aam Aadmi Party workers, and what their connection is. Everything will become crystal clear," he added.

What AAP Said

The AAP rejected the allegations and accused the BJP government of trying to shift attention from the pollution in the Yamuna. The party demanded an investigation into the cause of the fish deaths.

Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said the government had falsely claimed that the Yamuna had been cleaned.

"First of all, the Delhi government lied by claiming that it had cleaned the Yamuna. Anyone who knows about the Yamuna is aware that the stretch from Palla, where it enters Delhi, up to Wazirabad, including Sonia Vihar, has always been relatively clean," he said.

Questioning the cause of the fish deaths, Bharadwaj said the government should investigate whether pollution or the release of harmful chemicals had killed the fish.

"Fish in the river have died, and videos of them have been uploaded on Facebook by several people. Why did these fish die? Did they die because of pollution, or was some harmful chemical released into the water, contaminating it? The government must take full responsibility for this. Instead, Parvesh Verma is claiming that Saurabh Bharadwaj dumped the dead fish into the river. Tell me, where would we have bought thousands of dead fish from? Would I go all the way to the sea to collect dead fish, or would they come from some major fish market in Delhi?" he asked.

In another post on X, Bharadwaj questioned the minister's allegations and pointed out that the complaint did not mention that dead fish had been deliberately dumped into the river.

He wrote, "Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh is verbally saying that dead fish were brought from somewhere and dumped into the Yamuna, but this is nowhere mentioned in the complaint.

Everyone knows the fish must have died from polluted water.

Perhaps they got scared that an investigation would expose the Yamuna’s pollution.

Will the government order an investigation into how thousands of fish died?

Are you afraid of an investigation, Minister Pravesh Verma?"

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Locals Blame Polluted Water For Fish Deaths

Meanwhile, some locals alleged that polluted water discharged from a leather tannery was responsible for the fish deaths. They claimed that the problem occurs every year when water is released into the Yamuna from an area near the Hathnikund Barrage.

There is a tannery, and the water released from there is polluted. The fish die because of that. There were several dead fish on Wednesday and also on Thursday. "They died because of the polluted water," a local told PTI.

However, the cause of the deaths has not yet been officially established.

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The incident comes less than a month after hundreds of dead fish were found along the Yamuna riverbank in north Delhi's Burari. At the time, Radhey Shyam Sharma, head of environmental studies at Delhi University, said that the sudden death of large numbers of fish could indicate a sharp rise in water contaminants or the release of toxic substances.

Dead Fish In Yamuna Ahead Of Chhath Puja

The incident has raised concerns as it comes on Friday, the first day of the four-day Chhath Puja festival. The festival begins with Nahay Khay, a ritual during which devotees take a holy bath and prepare a traditional meal of Arwa rice, chana dal and lauki (bottle gourd).

Chhath Puja is dedicated to the worship of the Sun God. Thousands of devotees in Delhi visit the Yamuna to take a holy dip and offer Arghya during the festival.

The sight of dead fish floating in the river has therefore raised fresh concerns over water quality and the safety of devotees who will enter the Yamuna for the rituals.

( With inputs from PTI )


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