BJP MLA Ravi Negi slipped and fell into the Yamuna River while filming a reel on the river-cleaning drive. He was quickly rescued by his team and escaped unhurt. The incident happened as the Delhi government highlighted major improvements in the Yamunaโs water quality ahead of the Chhath festival.
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma said the riverโs condition has improved compared to last year. โWe promised to clean the Yamuna within three years, and four of the eight sampling points have already reached the permissible limit,โ Verma said on Saturday.
According to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the faecal coliform levels, an indicator of sewage pollution, have dropped sharply. At ISBT, the count fell from 28,000 units in 2024 to 8,000 this year. At Okhla, it decreased from 18 lakh to 2,700, and at Agra Canal, from 22 lakh to 1,600. Verma said the fall is due to large-scale desilting and drain-cleaning drives. Over 20 lakh metric tonnes of silt have been removed from key drains, improving flow and reducing pollution.
In its 2025โ26 budget, the BJP government allocated โน1,500 crore for Yamuna cleaning and sewage infrastructure upgrades. The plan includes building 40 decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs) to treat wastewater before it enters the river. The government has also procured a Finnish-made amphibious dredger worth โน8 crore to remove silt and weeds. The machine will start operations in early 2026.
Environment officials said the cityโs STPs can now treat about 400 million gallons of sewage per day (MGD), and real-time monitoring has been introduced to ensure no untreated water reaches the Yamuna. The governmentโs โfour-prongedโ strategy includes removing waste, intercepting drains, building new treatment plants, and creating green buffer zones along the river.
However, opposition AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the government of exaggerating progress. He said, โDelhiโs own pollution report shows the Yamuna water is still unfit for bathing or drinking. BJPโs lies are dangerous.โ
In response, Verma said Bharadwaj was โselectively quoting data.โ He pointed out that during AAPโs rule, locations like Asgarpur had coliform levels as high as 80 lakh, while today they are 8,000.
Despite political clashes, officials say Yamunaโs water quality has improved the most in years. BJP leaders claim the river is now clean enough for ritual sipping (aachman) during Chhath Puja, a symbolic sign of progress in Delhiโs long fight against pollution.
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