NEW DELHI: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari took a dip in the Yamuna on Thursday, claiming that the river’s pollution load had reduced by half over the past year due to cleaning works undertaken by the Rekha Gupta government.The BJP leader also asserted that people could once again celebrate Chhath Puja in the Yamuna, news agency PTI reported.Days earlier, Union home minister Amit Shah had launched 43 projects worth Rs 8,941 crore aimed at cleaning the river and pledged that the BJP government would ensure the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna was cleaned by May 2029.Tiwari, the BJP MP from the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, said the presence of migratory birds at certain places along the river indicated an improvement in its condition.“These birds would not have come here if the river wasn’t clean,” he asserted.Tiwari said he had tasted Yamuna water, or performed “aachman”, at Sonia Vihar, praising the BJP government for its efforts to clean the river and accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of failing to do so, PTI reported.“AAP used to put blame on Haryana for polluting the river. Since the BJP came to power, it has cleaned half of the river in one-and-a-half years,” Tiwari said, adding that the remaining cleaning work would be completed in the next three years.In a post on X, the Delhi BJP claimed that work undertaken by the party’s government in two years had achieved what the Congress and AAP could not in 27 years. The party also challenged AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip in the river.Responding to the claims, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote on X, ” These BJP frauds know nothing about Delhi. It is well known that 26km stretch of Yamuna river from Palla to Wazirabad has always been comparatively clean. It was cleaner during AAP govt even as per DPCC reports.”The Yamuna becomes increasingly polluted as it flows downstream through Delhi, PTI reported.The 22km stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla is considered highly polluted and has been the focus of several policy efforts.Bharadwaj said, “I invite Manoj Tiwari and water minister Parvesh Verma to drink water at Kalindi Kunj ghat (near Okhla barrage). Last year also they ran away from the challenge.”During his visit to Sonia Vihar ghat, Tiwari also sang a folk song and invited people celebrating Chhath Puja to visit the Yamuna and offer prayers.The claims come amid ongoing efforts to clean the river, which flows for around 52km through Delhi.Earlier, Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma had said, “It will take around two-and-a-half to three years for the Yamuna to be completely clean. We have never claimed that the Yamuna has been completely cleaned.”The minister said the upper stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, between Palla and Wazirabad, had been completely cleaned, while work was underway on the stretch between Wazirabad and Kalindi Kunj.(With agency inputs)
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