Delhi CM performs 'Yamuna Aarti', announces grand Chhath celebrations along river bank this year

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday performed 'Yamuna Aarti' at Sur Ghat and announced that the Chhath festival will be celebrated along the riverbank this year with great splendour, an official statement said.

Emphasizing public participation in cleaning the polluted river, she said her government is committed to restoring the Yamuna and has allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the effort in the 2025-26 budget.

A large number of people attended the event at Sur Ghat in Wazirabad, held amid chants of hymns in praise of the Yamuna goddess, according to the statement.

A special ritual, "Chunri Manorath," was also performed, symbolizing devotion and environmental awareness, it said.

“This public involvement will help us achieve our goal of cleaning the Yamuna by setting up sewage treatment plants, removing waste materials, and preventing the flow of drains into the river. The entire country will witness the splendour of Chhath this year,” she said addressing the gathering.

Over the past several decades, Yamuna's purity has been severely affected by pollution, and urgent steps are required to restore its original glory, she said.

Gupta accused the previous AAP government of failing to act on its promises to clean the Yamuna.

She asserted that the BJP-led government has a concrete plan to restore the river, including setting up decentralized sewage treatment plants, deploying modern machinery such as trash skimmers and weed harvesters at a cost of Rs 40 crore, and enforcing strict regulations on industrial waste disposal.

She said awareness campaigns would encourage citizens to participate in river conservation, adding that cleaning the Yamuna is not just a government duty but a shared societal responsibility.