Amid toxic foam & pollution concerns, BJP MP Parvesh Verma celebrates Chhath at Yamuna bank

BJP MP Parvesh Verma also vowed to set up a ‘ghat’ at ITO and indulge in celebrations on the main day of Chhath festivities.

Parliamentarian Parvesh Verma of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday celebrated Chhath Puja on the banks of the Yamuna river at ITO in Delhi. Verma further vowed to set up a ‘ghat’ at the place and indulge in celebrations on the main day of Chhath festivities.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma at the Yamuna bank in ITO on Monday. (ANI Twitter)

The BJP MP’s statement and celebrations came amid severe concerns being raised over devotees taking a dip into the polluted river in which toxic foam can be seen floating at several places. For the past two days, the capital’s water supply was also hit due to rising ammonia levels in the Yamuna.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority has allowed puja festivities only on designated sites and not on Yamuna ghats keeping the health of the river and citizens in mind.

Earlier in the day, devotees were seen taking a dip in the foam-filled Yamuna river near Kalindi Kunj. Monday is the first day of the four-day festival mainly celebrated by people of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.

The BJP MP, however, hit out at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for refusing to allow devotees to celebrate on the banks of the Yamuna. He said that while the Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power with the votes of people from Purvanchal, the CM was now refusing to allow them to celebrate.