Delhi govt plans anti-froth ops in Yamuna ahead of Chhath

Power boats, divers and foam arresters to be deployed; temporary lab at Okhla to track water quality as 929 sites prepared for devotees.

The Delhi government has unveiled a special plan to tackle the recurring problem of toxic froth in the Yamuna ahead of the Chhath festival, a move aimed at preventing a repeat of the images of devotees wading through foam-covered waters that have sparked outrage in previous years.

DJB to deploy foam arresters, mobile sprinklers and anti-foam agents; I&FC to ready new ghats between Wazirabad barrage and Old Railway Bridge. (Sunil Ghosh/HTR)

Officials said the administration will hire professionals, deploy additional boats, and set up temporary monitoring facilities to manage the situation.

With the monsoon over and temperatures dropping, froth formation typically increases as bubbles stabilise, experts warned.

“This year, Chhath will be celebrated on both the eastern and western banks of the Yamuna. Ensuring clean and safe sites for devotees is a priority,” a senior official said aware of the plan.

The government will hire 10 power boats, divers, and operators to run anti-froth operations, at a cost of around ₹24 lakh. A tented facility near Okhla will host a temporary laboratory to monitor water quality.

“Besides boat operators, we will also hire divers for rescue and safety purpose,” the official cited above said.

According to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), multiple methods will be deployed: fabricated foam arresters to sieve the water; static sprinklers on the Okhla barrage and mobile sprinklers on boats with anti-foam agents; and motorboats to divert and collect floating chunks. “Since froth is often triggered by water falling from a height and churning at the barrage, we are also studying how the slope can be made gentler,” a DJB official explained.

Froth is caused by soap-like surfactant molecules from untreated sewage, detergents, and industrial effluents, along with materials released by decomposing water hyacinth. Officials noted that similar phenomena have been recorded in polluted lakes in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

In parallel, the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department will spend ₹50 lakh on preparing new Chhath ghats along the Yamuna between Wazirabad barrage and the Old Railway Bridge. The sites will be levelled with excavators, fenced with bamboo jaffery, and fitted with hoardings. “These stretches include Wazirabad ghat near the Signature Bridge and several sites upstream of the Old Railway Bridge. No immersion will be allowed inside the river,” an official said.

Beyond the river’s banks, Chhath will also be organised at the Munak Canal, Mungeshpur Drain, and numerous artificial ponds across the city.

On Monday, chief minister Rekha Gupta had chaired a high-level meeting and announced that the capital will host rituals at 929 sites, covering Yamuna riverbanks from Palla in the north to Okhla in the south.

With more than 4 million Poorvanchali residents in Delhi, Chhath has grown into a major cultural and political event. Over the last decade, the festival’s public observance has expanded proportionally, often becoming a flashpoint between the AAP and BJP, both eager to woo the influential community.