look news india
News India Live, Digital Desk: Just before Chhath Puja in the national capital Delhi, politics regarding the quality of air and water is at its peak. While the Delhi government is patting itself on the back by claiming clean air and better condition of the Yamuna river, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has termed these claims as “white lies” and “deception of the public”. AAP has given a direct challenge to the government and said that if Yamuna has really become clean, then the Chief Minister and his ministers should show it by drinking its water.
This conflict escalated further when senior AAP leader and Delhi State President Saurabh Bhardwaj reached the Chief Minister’s residence after filling Yamuna water in a bottle and invited him to drink it.
Yamuna cleaning: reality or pretense?
The Delhi government claims that due to its efforts, the poisonous foam in the Yamuna river has been eliminated and unprecedented work has been done in cleaning the river. The government is promising to provide clean ghats to the devotees on Chhath Puja.
But Aam Aadmi Party is rejecting these claims outright. AAP has made several serious allegations against the government:
- Allegation of hiding foam with chemicals: AAP says that the government is not eliminating the foam, but is spraying a special chemical to suppress it. Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that while in opposition, BJP used to call this chemical as “poison”.
- Claim to add clean water: AAP alleges that to make the Yamuna appear clean during Chhath, clean canal water from Haryana is being released into the river, so that the river appears clean for some time and the government can gain false applause.
- Quoting the DPCC report: Citing the reports of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), AAP has said that the water of Yamuna is not even fit for bathing, leave alone drinking.
‘Juggling of figures’ on air quality?
Not just water, AAP has also made serious allegations against the government regarding the air quality of Delhi. AAP says the government is “stealing data” and trying to convince Delhiites that the air has been cleaned.
Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that on nights like Diwali, when pollution reaches dangerous levels, many pollution monitoring stations are either closed or their data is hidden. This makes the average AQI appear lower and the government boasts of its false success. AAP has called it playing with the health of the people of Delhi.
This political battle has raised a question in the minds of the people of Delhi as to how much truth is there in the claims of cleanliness of air and water.