'Dead fish' in Yamuna spark BJP-AAP face-off

A political controversy erupted in Delhi on Friday over a video purportedly showing thousands of dead fish floating in the Yamuna near Sonia Vihar, with BJP ministers accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of staging the incident and the opposition demanding an investigation into the cause of the fish deaths.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa accused AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his associates of orchestrating the incident, alleging that party workers had brought dead fish from a market and dumped them into the river before recording videos.

In a post on X, Sirsa criticised the alleged act, describing it as particularly reprehensible ahead of Chhath Puja, when devotees, including women, would gather along the riverbanks.

He also highlighted the Delhi government's ongoing efforts to clean the Yamuna.

Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma had made similar allegations on Thursday, accusing AAP of deliberately staging the incident to create controversy and discredit the government.

𝗔𝗔𝗣 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝘆

Rejecting the allegations, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj demanded an investigation into the fish deaths and questioned why water samples had not been collected to determine the cause.

Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj asked how thousands of dead fish could have been dumped into the Yamuna without attracting the attention of authorities.

He also questioned why the government had not produced CCTV footage or other evidence supporting its allegations against AAP workers.

"I want to ask Parvesh Verma, who has told him that AAP leaders dumped dead fish into the Yamuna?" Bharadwaj said.

He claimed that pollution levels in the Yamuna had increased and alleged that a water treatment plant had been shut down around the time the dead fish were discovered.

Bharadwaj also referred to the Delhi Jal Board's reported decision to curtail water supply in certain areas because of contamination.

The AAP leader raised questions about the recently inaugurated cruise service on the Yamuna, alleging that chemicals had been sprinkled into the water.

He demanded an investigation into whether such substances could have contributed to the fish deaths.

Bharadwaj said he had spoken to an official of the flood and irrigation department, who told him that the issue did not fall within the department's jurisdiction.

According to Bharadwaj, the official also said he had not witnessed anyone dumping dead fish into the river.

The AAP leader urged the government to prioritise measures to tackle Yamuna pollution instead of making allegations against political opponents.

𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱

The controversy also extended to arrangements being made for Chhath Puja at Vasudev Ghat along the Yamuna.

Bharadwaj alleged that the Delhi government had constructed an artificial water body and laid an underground pipeline to fill it with drinking water.

Sharing a video on social media, he claimed that excavation work had been undertaken to draw water from a main drinking-water pipeline and that the area was subsequently covered with artificial grass.

He questioned why drinking water was being diverted for religious rituals if the government had already succeeded in cleaning the Yamuna.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia also criticised the arrangement, alleging that the creation of an artificial pool contradicted the government's claims about improved river water quality.

AAP leaders referred to similar arrangements made last year, which they had criticised as an attempt to create a misleading impression about the condition of the Yamuna.

𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿

The exact cause of the fish deaths near Sonia Vihar has not yet been established.

Local residents alleged that polluted effluents discharged from a leather tannery near the Hathnikund Barrage could have been responsible.

"There is a tannery, and the discharges from there are polluted. There were several dead fish on Wednesday and also on Thursday. The fish died because of the polluted water," a resident said on Thursday.

Residents claimed that similar incidents occurred periodically when pollutants were allegedly released into the river from an industrial unit in the area.

The latest incident came less than a month after hundreds, possibly thousands, of dead fish were discovered along the Yamuna bank in north Delhi's Burari.

It also followed the inauguration of a cruise service between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur by Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The Congress also joined the controversy, with a delegation led by Delhi unit president Devender Yadav visiting stretches of the Yamuna on Friday.

The delegation inspected the riverbanks at Soorghat near Wazirabad in north Delhi and Sonia Vihar in northeast Delhi.

Yadav alleged that untreated wastewater from the Najafgarh drain, carrying human and animal waste, continued to flow into the Yamuna.

He accused the BJP government of failing to ensure clean water for devotees ahead of Chhath Puja.

Showing reporters a bottle of water apparently collected from the river, Yadav questioned the government's claims about improvements in water quality.

He alleged that encouraging devotees to take a holy dip in polluted water could expose them to health risks and hurt religious sentiments.

The Delhi Congress chief also challenged BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, who had recently taken a dip in the Yamuna at Sonia Vihar, to revisit the location and touch the river water.

With the cause of the fish deaths still unconfirmed, the controversy has intensified political exchanges over the condition of the Yamuna and the government's preparations for Chhath Puja.