Both BJP, AAP responsible for sending Yamuna to ICU, says 'waterman' Rajendra Singh

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, October 29

Amid the ongoing political slugfest between the ruling BJP at the Centre and the incumbent AAP in Delhi on the Yamuna environmental crisis and dangerous frothing, ‘waterman’ Rajendra Singh on Saturday held the municipal corporation in the national capital and the Centre “equally responsible for sending the Yamuna to the ICU”.

The responsibility of managing river and rainwaters is with the state, he said, calling the chemical spray to dissipate frothing amid the ongoing Chhath festival not just “dangerous” for the people but also for the health of the river.

BJP’s Delhi MPs on Friday accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government of “infusing poisonous chemical” to remove froth from the Yamuna ahead of Chhath during which devotees take a holy dip in rivers/water bodies.

“The chemical will make the situation even worse by interfering with the Yamuna’s natural character, though there is hardly any left in the river,” said Singh, Stockholm Water Prize winner and Chairperson of the People’s World Commission on Flood and Drought.

Detractors and BJP leaders say that by spraying chemicals, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government was only trying to avoid the repeat of last year when pictures and videos showing devotees offering prayers in the froth-filled Yamuna on Chhath triggered much furore, prompting it to take measures like installing bamboo nets and sprinkling water to dissipate it.

However, holding the Narendra Modi-led Centre and his party-led municipal corporations equally responsible for turning the Yamuna into a “dirty, stinking drain,” Singh said to keep the river clean is the responsibility of both ‘raj’ and ‘samaaj’ (those in power and society).

“‘Raj’ more than ‘samaaj’ because Yamuna is a big river and to keep it ‘aviral’ (free-flowing) is the responsibility of the Centre and of keeping it clean that of the municipal corporation.

“It is the responsibility of the MC to ensure that dirty water does not flow into the river. The Delhi government is also responsible but the bigger onus of turning the river into a dirty, stinking drain is on the Centre and the municipal corporation; they are the ones to send the Yamuna into the ICU,” Singh said.

The BJP is in power at the Centre and the Delhi local bodies while AAP is in charge of the state government. Reminding AAP leaders of the promises they had made, Singh added that the responsibility of managing river waters along with what the rains brings is in its jurisdiction and harvesting it properly lies with the state government.

“The division of waters of a river is vested with the Centre. In those terms the ruling party in the Centre is responsible for ‘hatya’ (murder) of the Yamuna by not ensuring ‘aviral’ flow in it. The incumbent Delhi government has also not fulfilled promises it made, sending the river further into the mess. The Yamuna is in the ICU and needs ICU-level treatment; spraying chemicals will only make matters worse,” Singh said.