'Who promised people dip in clean Yamuna,' asks Delhi L-G lamenting plight of froth covered river

New Delhi: Lt Governor VK Saxena on Monday shared images of the toxic froth-covered surface of the Yamuna, questioning those responsible for keeping the river clean.

Saxena without naming anyone questioned those who claimed to rejuvenate the Yamuna and make people dip in its clean water, and who stalled the work for making the river pollution-free.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal ahead of Assembly polls in 2020 had promised to rid the Yamuna of heavy pollution and enable people to take a dip in its water by 2025.

The Supreme Court in July last year, stayed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order for appointing the Delhi LG as the chairman of a high-level committee on Yamuna rejuvenation.

The Supreme Court stayed the NGT order passed in January 2023, on a plea of the AAP government in Delhi that said it was keen to clean the Yamuna and the committee headed by the LG, side-lined the elected and accountable government.

In a post on X, Saxena shared the photos of the river and asked who was responsible for the predicament of the river that has been the lifeline of Delhi since "eternity." He said the significance of the Yamuna became even more on the occasion of the great festival of "Chhath".

The "Chhath" festival celebrated widely by Purvanchalis settled in Delhi, involves worship of the Sun god on the banks of the rivers, ponds, tanks and other water bodies.

The LG referring to the photos of the froth-covered Yamuna surface said it was unbearable to witness such a condition of the river and the pain of Delhi people over it.