The Delhi High Court has refused to permit devotees to perform Chhath Puja along the Yamuna riverbank in Geeta Colony as the river is severely polluted. A bench headed by Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said, “It will be very harmful. The river is so polluted that dipping into it could cause harm. We cannot allow that.”
The Yamuna River is highly polluted at present. Devotees performing Chhath Puja on the riverbed may fall ill,” Delhi Government Santosh Kumar Tripathi’s counsel told the court during the proceedings. He said the government had identified 1,000 spots in the national capital where Chhath Puja could be performed and made all necessary arrangements.
The court also referred to and considered a recent order in the Shabnam Burney case, in which it had accepted the unbearable pollution levels of the Yamuna. This came when the thick toxic foam was found floating on its surface at Kalindi Kunj due to pollution.
Thousands of devotees took a dip in the Yamuna River on Tuesday, the first day of Chhath Puja, for ritual bathing despite the water body being heavily polluted and covered with several layers of toxic foam.
Chhath Puja forms an important part of cultural identification for the Purvanchali community of Delhi, comprised of Bhojpuri-speaking people of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. The community constitutes nearly 30-40 percent of the voter base in Delhi, where assembly elections are due early next year.
