Delhi: DDMA banning Chhath Puja on Yamuna banks irks politicians

NEW DELHI: BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday raised objections over the Delhi Disaster Management Authority not permitting celebrations of Chhath puja on the banks of river Yamuna and blamed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for it.
The DDMA is chaired by the lieutenant governor. In a letter to the CM, Tiwari pleaded that people should not be stopped from organizing Chhath puja on the banks of river Yamuna.Meanwhile, BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh announced that he will defy the DDMA ban and facilitate Chhath puja celebrations on Yamuna bank and dared CM Kejriwal to stop him.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sanjeev Jha wrote a letter to LG Anil Baijal explaining that during Chhath puja no idol immersion takes place and in fact, the devotees clean the riverbanks for the purpose of the puja. Jha sought an appointment with the LG over the matter.
“Kejriwal ji, you are a member of the DDMA. Why did you maintain silence in the DDMA meeting? Why did your government not send a proposal (to DDMA) for holding Chhath puja on Yamuna banks? You remained silent because you were against Chhath puja since the beginning,” Tiwari stated in a tweet. Tiwari urged the AAP government to make public the proposal on Chhath puja it put up before the DDMA.

Tiwari demanded that an emergency meeting of the DDMA should be convened and BJP MPs should also be invited to join the meeting to discuss the issue.
AAP MLA Jha has argued that people have been celebrating Chhath puja every year on the banks of river Yamuna. Jha stated that he has been informed that the permission was denied because pollution levels increases in the Yamuna like after immersions of idols after Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja and stressed that Chhath puja is celebrated in sync with nature.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has started preparations for organizing Chhath puja at designated sites across the city and DDMA has issued a detailed order specifying guidelines for holding the festival in the wake of the prevailing Covid pandemic. Devotees have been allowed to hold puja only at sites designated by the district authorities in consultation with the Chhath puja committees and other stakeholders.
Revenue minister Kailash Gahlot recently held a meeting with DMs and revenue department officials and asked them to hold meetings with the Chhath puja organizing committees to designate sites and also start preparations for providing necessary facilities like lighting, tents, mobile toilets, etc. at these sites.