NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sanjeev Jha on Saturday urged Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal to allow people perform Chhath Puja on the banks of Yamuna river. In a letter to the Lt governor, the AAP leader said Chhath Puja celebrations cannot cause pollution in the river as the devotees clean the ghats (river banks) to perform the rituals.
He also sought an appointment from the Lt governor to discuss the issue with him.
This comes a day after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said that Chhath puja celebrations will be allowed at designated sites in the city, except on the banks of the river Yamuna.
"I have requested Lt governor to allow Chhath puja on the banks of the Yamuna river because people who believe in Chhath puja clean the ghats and the rivers before performing the rituals," Jha said in a statement.
Chhath puja "never causes" pollution in Yamuna, he added.
In his letter to the Lt governor, the AAP MLA noted the DDMA has stated that Chhath Puja cannot be celebrated on the banks of the Yamuna.
"Whereas, every year, Delhi's Purvanchalis observe Chhath puja on the banks of the Yamuna," he contended.
Drawing attention of the Lt governor on the issue, Jha said the divisional commissioner told him at a meeting that Chhath puja cannot be celebrated on the banks of Yamuna this year "because it increases the level of pollution in the river as it happens during Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga puja celebrations".
"I want to tell you that on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja, idol immersion takes place in the river, whereas Chhath Puja is a festival which is celebrated completely in nature's companionship," the AAP MLA said in his letter to the Lt governor.
People who have faith in this puja clean the ghats and rivers before performing rituals, he added.
The four-day Chhath Puja this year falls on November 8-11.
