The three municipal corporations said, they have deployed around 150 sanitation workers to clean the ghats of the waste material.
A day after the capital celebrated the final day of the Durga Puja, when more than a hundred idols of the goddess were immersed at seven ghats of the already polluted river Yamuna, the place was strewn heavily with used bamboo sticks, polythene, pieces of cloth, rotting flowed and other puja material.
At Kudsia Ghat, one of the busiest, during the immersion, a strong stench of sewage emanated from the water.
The three municipal corporations said, they have deployed around 150 sanitation workers to clean the ghats of the waste material.
"The Delhi government's Irrigation and Flood Control Department collects the bamboos and other material out of the river at the banks, which the corporation workers then fill into trucks and take it to landfill sites for disposal.
We have three trucks stationed at the ghats for the work. The cleaning up work will take a day," said, a corporation spokesperson.
Only last year, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned immersion of non-biodegradable idols using plastic, Plaster of Paris (POP) and harmful colours in the river.
While the government's, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) claimed to monitor Durga Puja committees for making only clay idols using natural colours only, are immersed in the massively polluted water body, environmental activists believe it's not enough.
The DPCC will come out with its report on water quality before and after the immersion in three days. The committee checks the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the water to study contamination.
The DPCC put up signages for water level and enclosures at the ghats to designate the spots for immersion, Kudsia Ghat, Geeta Ghat, Kalindi Kunj, Shyam Ghat, Hathi Ghat, Mayur Vihar extension Ghat and Geeta Colony Ghat.
"The enclosures are not that well-monitored to see if all the material being immersed is non-biodegradable. Also, there is no patrolling at the ghats to keep a tab on the activities. Nobody is thinking about the river, which is already overloaded with pollutants and industrial waste. Idol immersions in the river lead to further compromising on its condition," said Environmentalist Manoj Mishra.
Meanwhile, a Delhi Environment department official, said, "As per the NGT guidelines, we ensured that Durga Puja Committees only make use of biodegradable material for making idols. Also, we did not allow people to immerse from non-designated spots. Necessary steps were taken to not allow the river to be polluted further."
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 "A man drags the remnants of an idol of the goddess Durga from river Yamuna")
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