DNA Special: Ahead of Chhath Puja 2022, chemical-ridden Yamuna ghat awaits Delhi devotees

Chhath Puja 2022 has started today, October 28, and devotees will soon be lining up on river ghats and lakes to offer their prayers at sunrise, according to the puja vidhi. Meanwhile, the devotees participating in Chhath puja in Delhi will be disappointed once again.

Like every year, there is a barrage of claims in Delhi in the name of preparations for Chhath Puja, while devotees in the national capital are not getting even the basic facilities to hold their puja. The condition of the Yamuna ghat remains abysmal while the Delhi government has once failed to make proper preparations.

The Delhi government has been claiming to have made great preparations for the Chhath festival for the last several years, with these claims being proven wrong each year, with dirty Yamuna ghats and unclean water during the prayer muhurat.

We have seen year after year that there is a difference between Arvind Kejriwal's claims about the Yamuna and its ghats and its truth. Once again the Chhath festival has come, and once again a ruckus has started on the filth of Yamuna ghats in Delhi.

Year after year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made claims of cleaning up the Yamuna ghats for the Chhath Puja. After his claims failed in 2019, he again made the promise to clean up the Yamuna water ahead of the 2020 Delhi elections.

Last year too, when questions were raised on the filth of Yamuna, he stuck another claim to the people of Delhi. People have even started jokingly saying that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi is that shop of claims, where every item is fake.

Aam Aadmi Party has remained in power in Delhi for eight years now, with the condition of the Yamuna river still the same. The Kejriwal government had also claimed that they will prepare hundreds of ghats for Chhath puja this year, but no such preparations can be seen on the ghats.

Despite the claims made by AAP ahead of Chhath puja, the water in the Yamuna river still appears chemical-ridden and dirty. Even though Yamuna is considered a goddess in Hinduism, its water, today, is nothing short of poison. Many visuals showed chemical foam floating on the water's surface, making the river toxic.

Arvind Kejriwal has made very big promises about the Yamuna and its ghats, be it the 2015 elections or the 2020 assembly elections. Every time for the Aam Aadmi Party, cleaning the Yamuna has been an issue in the name of which they are seeking votes. When the reporters of DNA reached the Yamuna site, they could see dirt and garbage piled up on the ghat, and even a dead animal floating in the water.

The 8^th point of the manifesto of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during the 2020 Delhi elections states after the victory, they will take steps together with the Center for the upliftment of the Yamuna river. His government will beautify the ghats of Yamuna. He claimed that he would make the ghats of Yamuna beautiful and promote it as a tourist spot.

Meanwhile, in the 15^th point of the AAP election manifesto in 2015, it was stated that Delhi's sewage will not be allowed to fall into the Yamuna to keep it clean. A good plan for sewage will be prepared in Delhi. It was also said that the dirty water containing chemicals coming out of the factories will not be allowed to fall into the Yamuna.

Cleaning the Yamuna or the ghats of the Yamuna has been an election issue for the Aam Aadmi Party. Preparing ghats for Chhath has also been an election issue for the Delhi government, as it has failed to live up to the expectations of the people in both areas.

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