- Dead fish in Yamuna spark political row ahead of Chhath.
- BJP minister alleges deliberate dumping; police investigation initiated.
- AAP questions water safety, demands pollution probe into deaths.
The discovery of dead fish floating in the Yamuna has triggered a political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, just days before Chhath Puja. Several social media users shared visuals of dead fish along the Sonia Vihar stretch of the river, raising fresh concerns over water quality in the national capital.
The incident comes a day after the launch of Delhi’s first recreational river cruise service, the Namo Yamuna River Safari. The timing has added to the political controversy, with leaders from both parties trading allegations over the condition of the river.
Delhi Environment Minister Parvesh Verma accused unidentified people of deliberately dumping dead fish into the Yamuna to discredit the government. AAP, meanwhile, questioned the safety of the river water, asking: “If this water is not safe for fish, is it safe for humans?”
Parvesh Verma Alleges Deliberate Dumping, Says FIR Filed
Verma claimed that officials from his department had informed him about people allegedly dumping dead fish into the river a day after ferry services began operating.
“As soon as ferry services started operating on the Yamuna, just a day later, officials from our department informed me that some people were dumping dead fish into the Yamuna,” he told mediapersons.
The minister said an FIR was being filed and an investigation would be conducted to identify those responsible. He also claimed that investigators would examine whether the people involved had any links to AAP workers.
This is the second incident of mass fish deaths in the Yamuna within a month, adding to concerns over pollution in the river ahead of the Chhath festivities.
AAP Questions Water Quality, Demands Investigation
AAP MLA and former Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj shared a video showing dead fish floating in the Yamuna and alleged that harmful chemicals were being released into the river to make its water appear cleaner ahead of Chhath Puja.
Bhardwaj also rejected the BJP government’s suggestion that people had deliberately dumped dead fish into the river. He questioned why the allegation was not supported by evidence in the complaint and demanded an investigation into the deaths.
“Minister @p_sahibsingh is verbally saying that dead fish were brought from somewhere and dumped into the Yamuna, but this is nowhere mentioned in the complaint. Everyone knows the fish must have died from polluted water,” he said.
He further questioned whether the government would order a probe into the deaths of thousands of fish, suggesting that an investigation could expose the extent of pollution in the Yamuna.
Manoj Tiwari’s Yamuna Dip Had Also Triggered Row
The latest controversy comes weeks after BJP MP Manoj Tiwari took a dip in the Yamuna and sipped its water to demonstrate that the river had been cleaned under the BJP government.
The Opposition rejected his claim, arguing that the Sonia Vihar stretch where Tiwari took the dip had traditionally remained relatively clean, while pollution levels increased further downstream.
The latest discovery of dead fish has once again brought the condition of the Yamuna into the political spotlight, with the BJP alleging deliberate attempts to undermine its efforts and AAP questioning the government’s claims about the river’s cleanliness.
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