Layer of toxic foam floats in Yamuna river ahead of 'Chhath Pooja'

Days after AAP ministers assured to make Yamuna clean, a layer of toxic foam was seen floating on the surface of the river in the national capital on Saturday.

As the four-day festival of 'Chhath Pooja' begins, toxic foam floats in the Yamuna water in the Kalindi Kunj area, despite ample promises made by the Aam Aadmi party on cleansing the holy river. The toxic foam of the Yamuna also sparked a political blame game between the BJP and AAP.

Earlier, AAP minister Atishi inspected the Burari Ghat and made an assurance that the froth in the Yamuna will be cleared soon.

"To remove that (toxic foam), sprinkling of food-grade chemicals and enzymes is being done there. The sprinkling team started the sprinkling work on 10 boats last night. In the next two days, the toxic foam will completely vanish...But I would like to urge the Uttar Pradesh government to not send its polluted water to Delhi," she said while speaking to ANI.

AAP MLA and Vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board, Somnath Bharti, also inspected the Kalindi Kunj Ghat in the national capital. He asserted that the foam in the water is harmless.

Bharti also assured that this is the last time that the foam is seen in the water, it won't be seen from the next time.

"Foam in the Yamuna River is being created downstream because the water is falling from a height. The foam is harmless and chemical dosing is being done to remove the foam from river water," he said.

The toxic foam is due to the high phosphate content in the Yamuna river which can cause skin and respiratory problems. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea seeking permission to organise Chhat Puja at the banks of the Yamuna.