New Delhi, Nov 12 A video on social media showing a large number of dead fish floating in the Yamuna near Delhi’s Sonia Vihar has triggered concerns over water pollution, even as the exact cause of the deaths remains unconfirmed.
The Delhi government, however, alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) threw dead fish in the river to defame it.
In response, the AAP said the “fake narrative” of the BJP of cleaning Yamuna has been exposed, and that the government must not blame the opposition for planting dead fish in the river.
“First of all, the Delhi government lied by claiming that it had cleaned the Yamuna. Anyone who knows about the Yamuna is aware that the stretch from Palla, where it enters Delhi, up to Wazirabad, including Sonia Vihar, has always been relatively clean,” senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj told reporters.
“Fish in the river have died, and videos of them have been uploaded on Facebook by several people. Why did these fish die? Did they die because of pollution, or was some harmful chemical released into the water, contaminating it?
“The government must take full responsibility for this. Instead, Parvesh Verma is claiming that Saurabh Bharadwaj dumped the dead fish into the river.
“Tell me, where would we have bought thousands of dead fish from? Would I go all the way to the sea to collect dead fish, or would they come from some major fish market in Delhi?” Bharadwaj asked.
Locals alleged that polluted water discharged from a leather tannery was responsible for the fish deaths, claiming that the problem recurs every year when water is released into the river from a spot near the Hathnikund Barrage.
“There is a tannery and the water released from there is polluted. The fish die because of that. There were several dead fish on Wednesday and also on Thursday. They died because of the polluted water,” a local said.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Thursday submitted a complaint to Delhi Police, requesting an FIR against individuals spreading “fake news” about chemical dumping into the river.
“As you are aware, the Chhath festival is scheduled for November 15 and 16 along the Yamuna River, when a large number of devotees are expected to visit the Chhath Ghats to offer prayers.
“It is brought to your kind attention that some unidentified individuals are spreading fake information on social media, alleging that chemicals are being sprayed into the Yamuna, disturbing aquatic life,” the DJB’s complaint said.
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma accused the AAP of staging the incident.
“I am seeing dirty politics by AAP. They are buying dead fish from the market and putting them in the river and posting videos to defame us,” Verma said.
“Just a day after ferry services started operating on the Yamuna, officials told me that some people were dumping dead fish into the river. The Chhath is approaching, and they (AAP) are trying to spoil the atmosphere ahead of the festival,” the minister said.
“These people are trying to spoil the atmosphere through such petty politics… Arvind Kejriwal has stooped to this level. A probe will be conducted to identify who these people are and whether they have any connection with the AAP workers. Everything will become clear once the investigation is complete,” he added.
The incident comes less than a month after hundreds of dead fish were found along the Yamuna riverbank in north Delhi’s Burari.
At the time, Radhey Shyam Sharma, head of environmental studies at Delhi University, said that sudden mass deaths of fish could indicate a sharp increase in contaminants in the water or a toxic discharge.
Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), also flagged industrial pollution as a possible cause, pointing to untreated effluents entering the river through drains in Haryana and restricted environmental flows.
“Back-to-back mass fish deaths in this relatively cleaner stretch of the Yamuna are alarming. Laboratory testing is the first essential step towards identifying the cause and deciding remedial action.
“Yet, the concerned government agencies, particularly the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Delhi Jal Board and Irrigation and Flood Control Department, appear to have failed to fulfil even this basic responsibility,” Rawat said.
The exact cause and source of the fish deaths could only be established through an investigation and water-quality testing, experts said.
On Wednesday, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, inaugurated a cruise service on the Yamuna between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur.
The service, developed to promote river tourism, covers a stretch of 4-5 km, with each ride costing Rs 500 and lasting approximately 40 minutes.
(PTI News)
