Yamuna pollution row: Delhi minister accuses AAP of dumping dead fish in river to defame govt

Yamuna pollution row: Delhi minister accuses AAP of dumping dead fish in river to defame govt

New Delhi, A day after a video surfaced purportedly showing a large number of dead fish floating in Yamuna water near northeast Delhi's Sonia Vihar, the political row over the incident intensified on Friday, with Delhi ministers accusing the A of dumping dead fish in the river to defame the government.

Yamuna pollution row: Delhi minister accuses AAP of dumping dead fish in river to defame govt

The opposition party rejected the allegations, questioning how such a large number of dead fish could be dumped into the river without the authorities noticing.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused A national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his associates of orchestrating the incident, claiming that the party is rattled by the government's efforts to clean the Yamuna and the recent launch of a cruise service along the river.

In a post on X, Sirsa said, "No one could have imagined that politics could sink this low What Mr Kejriwal and his associates have done... There can be no greater sin than this."

He alleged that A workers had brought dead fish from the market and dumped them in the river before recording videos to create an impression that the Yamuna remained polluted.

He said the alleged act was particularly reprehensible ahead of Chhath Puja, when devotees, including women, would visit riverbanks.

Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma had, on Thursday, accused the A of staging the incident, alleging that its workers had purchased dead fish from the market and thrown them into the river to create a controversy.

"Today, I am seeing dirty politics by A. They are buying dead fish from the market and dumping them in the river and posting videos in an attempt to defame us," Verma said.

A leader Saurabh Bharadwaj rejected the allegations, questioning how thousands of dead fish could have been dumped into the river without anyone noticing or any CCTV footage being available.

He accused Verma of attempting to deflect attention from the pollution of the Yamuna, pointing to Delhi Jal Board's reported decision to curtail water supply in some areas due to contamination.

"Parvesh Verma does not even know about his own department. He is saying that Saurabh Bharadwaj, Arvind Kejriwal and A brought dead fish and dumped it in the Yamuna," he said, questioning how no one noticed them do this.

"Parvesh Verma is making up more lies to cover up one. He should accept that thousands of fish have died in the Yamuna due to pollution," Bharadwaj said.

The exact cause of the purported fish deaths remains unconfirmed, with locals alleging that effluents released into the river from a leather tannery are responsible for the incident.

Residents claimed that the problem recurs every year when pollutants are discharged into the river from an industrial unit located near the Hathnikund Barrage.

"There is a tannery and the discharges from there are polluted. There were several dead fish on Wednesday, and also on Thursday. The fish died because of the polluted water," a local said on Thursday.

The incident comes less than a month after hundreds, possibly thousands, of dead fish were found along the Yamuna bank in north Delhi's Burari.

The latest incident comes days after Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated a cruise service on the Yamuna between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur.

The service, aimed at promoting river-based tourism, covers a stretch of around 4-5 km.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.