Toxic foam reappears on Yamuna after Chhath Puja
text_fields
New Delhi: Nearly three weeks after Chhath Puja, toxic foam has reappeared on the Yamuna, reviving concerns about Delhi’s persistent river pollution problem.
A spot check at Kalindi Kunj on Monday revealed that large stretches of the river were again covered in thick white froth, while waste left behind by Chhath devotees continued to decay along the banks.
Boatmen deployed by authorities were observed moving their boats repeatedly up and down the river to improve water circulation and push the foam further downstream.
Residents in the area said officials also regularly sprayed chemicals into the water to disperse the froth — a method often used during festivals or when VIP movements are expected. Despite these interventions, the foam has remained, suggesting that water quality has worsened since the festivities.
Findings from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s most recent monthly report support this assessment. Its October data showed a sharp rise in pollution levels compared to September — a month when the Yamuna had briefly seen significant improvement due to strong water flow flushing out accumulated waste.
Samples taken from the river revealed that peak faecal coliform levels jumped to 21,000 MPN/100 ml at the ISBT bridge, up from 3,500 MPN/100 ml in September. This site is located just downstream of the Najafgarh drain, the river’s biggest pollution source.
Biochemical oxygen demand at the same point rose to 37 mg/l in October, nearly triple September’s measurement and far beyond the acceptable limit of 3 mg/l. Dissolved oxygen dropped to zero as the river exited Delhi, even though it had been detectable across the entire stretch the previous month. Ideally, faecal coliform should stay below 2,500 MPN/100 ml and dissolved oxygen above 5 mg/l.
The issue became politically charged on Monday when Aam Aadmi Party leaders Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar visited Kalindi Kunj and shared videos of the river blanketed in toxic foam. After the footage spread widely on social media, AAP accused the BJP-led government of neglecting the Yamuna-cleanup efforts following the Bihar elections.
Sharing one such video, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj posted on X: “With the Bihar elections over, the BJP’s ‘nautanki’ around cleaning the Yamuna has ended.” He added, “Today the river is filled with nothing but foam. This clearly shows BJP has no intention of removing pollution.”