New Delhi, Nov 13 Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday demanded an inquiry into fish deaths in the Yamuna, alleging that water samples are yet to be collected to ascertain the cause of the incident.
Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj alleged that pollution levels in the river have increased, and claimed that a water treatment plant was shut down around the same time as the fish deaths.
He also raised questions over the Delhi government’s cruise service in the river, alleging that chemicals were sprinkled into the water, and demanded an investigation into whether these additives could be linked to the fish deaths.
The AAP leader said water samples should be collected and examined to establish the cause of the incident.
Bharadwaj said during a meeting with an official of the flood and irrigation department, he was told that the issue of dead fish in Yamuna water did not fall under the department’s purview.
He further claimed that the official said he had not seen anyone dumping dead fish into the river.
“Now, I want to ask Parvesh Verma who has seen or told him that any AAP leader dumped dead fish into the Yamuna,” Bharadwaj said, referring to the allegation raised by the Delhi water minister.
There was no immediate response from Verma on this.
Bharadwaj also questioned the operations of air quality monitoring stations in the city, alleging that some are located in green areas while water is sprinkled near the stations situated in pollution hotspots such as Jahangirpuri.
He alleged that such practices could affect the air quality readings and sought scrutiny of monitoring arrangements.
(PTI News)
