Clean Yamuna or not? AAP, BJP's war over river water quality heats up ahead of Chhath Puja as Bihar polls approach

The Yamuna clean-up and Chhath facilities are also in focus as Bihar heads to polls on November 6 and 11, making Delhi's Chhath celebrations a political battleground beyond the capital's borders.

New Delhi: AAP on Thursday accused the BJP governments in Delhi and Haryana of diverting water from Uttar Pradesh's Eastern Canal to the Yamuna river to "create an illusion" of cleanliness before the festival, a charge rejected by the ruling party.

The BJP, instead, credited Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's government for what it called a "historic turnaround" in the Yamuna's condition within eight months of the chief minister taking office.

The political temperatures in Delhi have been rising as Chhath Puja nears, with AAP and the ruling BJP trading charges over the Yamuna's condition and preparations for the event.

The Yamuna clean-up and Chhath facilities are also in focus as the 243-member Bihar Assembly heads to polls on November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14 -- making Delhi's Chhath celebrations a political battleground beyond the capital's borders.

AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed the move of diverting water from Uttar Pradesh's Eastern Canal to the Yamuna river was a politically driven attempt to woo Purvanchali voters ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

"The BJP's lie has been caught. To reduce the Yamuna's pollution ahead of Chhath, the BJP stopped the UP canal's water flow. Haryana's BJP government diverted all water meant for UP farmers from Hathnikund into the Yamuna to make it appear clean for a few days," Bharadwaj said, adding that the froth would later be removed using defoaming chemicals.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that the river's water quality has reached "close to normal levels", a dramatic change from what he described as the previous AAP government's "drain-like Yamuna".

"On October 25, 2024, I had taken a dip in the Yamuna and ended up hospitalised. But now, after eight months of cleaning, BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta performed aachman (ritual sipping) of the river water on camera," Sachdeva said.

He added, "The dissolved oxygen level in the Yamuna is now between 4.5 and 5.5, and the pH is 7.5 -- close to normal. The water has no foul smell. This is the result of the Rekha Gupta government's consistent effort." Former AAP MLA Vinay Mishra accused the BJP of "pretending to love" the Purvanchali community because of the upcoming Bihar polls.

"For years, BJP leaders tried to stop Chhath Puja in Delhi, demolished ghats, and insulted people from Bihar and eastern UP. Today, they are pretending to care for Purvanchalis only because elections are near," he said.

In response, BJP's Sachdeva alleged the Kejriwal-led AAP government had " carried out loot in the name of Yamuna Maiya and Chhathi Maiya" and their corruption was the reason they were voted out.

Chief Minister Gupta announced on Wednesday that the Delhi government will develop 17 model Chhath ghats along the Yamuna and withdraw all past cases filed against devotees who performed Chhath rituals on the riverbanks.

Chhath Puja, a four-day festival dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya, will be celebrated from October 25 to 28.