BJP MLAs tote Yamuna water to protest river's pollution

BJP MLAs on Wednesday held a protest outside the Delhi Assembly over the issue of pollution in the Yamuna river.

Carrying bottles filled with ''heavily polluted" Yamuna water, the BJP leaders said they will raise the issue inside the House.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said supply of dirty water from Yamuna was harming the health of the people.

"It is causing cancer and damaging kidney and liver as well as leading to other ailments. The Modi government has provided the AAP government Rs 2,500 crore for cleaning Yamuna," he said.

"We want to ask Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal where did this money go because a report of his own government has said that Yamuna has been polluted 200 per cent more in the eight years of AAP rule," he said.

Bidhuri said the issue will be raised in the Assembly and if it is not debated upon, they will stage further protests over the issue.

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"A notice has been given for a debate over the issue. If the government runs away from debate, we will stage a dharna," he said.

Citing data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the lieutenant governor's office had said on Monday that pollution in the Yamuna river has doubled in the last eight years of the Arvind Kejriwal government.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it is already working to resolve legacy problems and the upgradation of almost all the major sewage treatment plants (STPs) is expected to be completed by the end of December.

Waste water from unauthorised colonies and slum clusters, and poor quality of treated waste water discharged from STPs and common effluent treatment plants are the main reasons behind high levels of pollution in the river.

The DPCC data showed that Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels remained within permissible limits (2 milligram per litre) at Palla , where the river enters Delhi, since 2014.

BOD, an important parameter for assessing water quality, is the amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic material present in a water body. BOD level less than 3 milligram per litre (mg/l) is considered good.