Delhi govt declares Chhath Pooja a public holiday on November 7

Chhath Pooja is an important festival for devotees from eastern UP and Bihar. A large number of devotees are expected to take a holy dip in the Yamuna River.

Delhi government on Friday declared November 7 as a public holiday on account of “Chhath Pooja” celebrations in the national capital. Chief Minister Atishi wrote to the chief secretary asking for a necessary notification to be issued in this regard, news agency ANI reported.

Devotees perform rituals in the Yamuna River at Kalindi Kunj on the occasion of Chhath Pooja. (File image)((Photo by Sunil Ghosh/ Hindustan Times))

“Chhath Pooja is an important festival for the people of NCT of Delhi. Accordingly, Government of NCT of Delhi has decided to declare 7th November 2024 as Public Holiday on account of ‘Chhat Pooja’,” read the chief minister's letter.

A large number of devotees are expected to take a holy dip in the Yamuna River and offer their prayers to Sun god “Surya” during the festival.

Yamuna polluted

Toxic pollution in the Yamuna River with several layers of froth has raised health concerns among the residents ahead of the festival.

“You can see, there is so much pollution here. For Chhath Puja, we'll now have to think about whether it can even be done here or not. Whichever government it is, they focus on their vote bank, but the public suffers. This is an important festival of the year, so how will people celebrate? They might be forced to do it at home,” said a local resident while speaking to ANI.

According to sources, a team from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has been involved in cleaning operations and spraying chemicals into the Yamuna River since last week to manage the foam that appears on the water's surface.

The issue has become a point of political blame game between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AAP has blamed the alleged release of untreated effluents from BJP ruled states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for toxic froth in the river, while the BJP has been blaming the ruling party of corruption and mismanagement.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonawala blamed the Delhi government for suffocating air and river pollution in the national capital. "The reason behind this foam (on the river) here is the corruption done by Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party. Now before Chhath Puja, they are sprinkling chemical defoamer," Poonawalla said.

(With ANI inputs)