Yamuna highly toxic, says Delhi HC, bins plea to allow Chhath Puja rituals on riverbanks

Court dismisses petition against order prohibiting Chhath Puja rituals on Yamuna’s banks, says it can’t let devotees fall sick; have made ample arrangements at 1,000 ghats: Delhi govt. counsel; 4-day festival dedicated to Sun God began on Tuesday

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking a direction to the authorities to permit Chhath Puja rituals along the banks of the Yamuna river, saying it could not allow harm to come to the devotees due to the “highly polluted” river.

“Please understand you will fall sick. We can’t allow you [devotees] to go into the water. It is highly polluted. We can’t clean up the Yamuna in one day’s time. It is a gigantic task; it cannot be done now,” the court said while noting that the Delhi government has made sufficient arrangements for devotees to perform puja at 1,000 ghats across the city.

The petitioner, Purvanchal Nav Nirman Sansthan, had challenged an order by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority dated October 29, 2021, through which the authorities had banned the celebration of Chhath Puja along the riverbanks.

The four-day festival dedicated to the Sun God started on Tuesday. It is celebrated predominantly by Purvanchalis, the Bhojpuri-speaking people from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and parts of Jharkhand.

The rituals include holy bathing, fasting, standing in water, and making offerings to the rising and setting sun.

A Bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela referred to a recent order in another case where judicial notice was taken of the pollution in the river being at “an all-time high”.

“This will be very harmful; we don’t want any harm to be done to devotees,” the Bench observed.

‘Political motives’

The court also remarked that there is no consensus among the public regarding measures to curb the pollution. While some want to clean up the river, others, motivated by their politics, want the encroachment and authorised construction on the Yamuna to stay, it said.

The Delhi government’s standing counsel told the court that the river is highly polluted at the moment, and if the devotees perform Chhath Puja rituals on the riverbanks, they are likely to fall sick.

The counsel submitted that the government has earmarked 1,000 spots for the devotees in the Capital and that sufficient arrangements have been made for them.

‘Challenging exercise’

In response to the petitioner’s claim that the riverbanks could be cleaned and that it was willing to take the initiative, the court said such an exercise would be “challenging” and that it could not be done overnight.

“The problem today is we cannot be discharging sewage in the Yamuna,” said the two-judge Bench, adding that the contrary is happening in reality. “Whether it is industrial sewage or our own sewage... look at the unauthorised colonies built on the banks. Their untreated sewage is going into this [river],” the court added.

Published - November 07, 2024 01:08 am IST