Ahead of Chhath Puja, Delhi CM joins drive to clear waste from Yamuna ghats

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, her Cabinet colleagues and senior BJP leaders on Sunday joined the 'Chalo Yamuna' campaign to remove garbage from 70 ghats along both banks of the heavily polluted Yamuna river.Gupta, who participated in the clean-up drive at Hathi Ghat near ITO, urged people to become 'Yamuna Praharis' and contribute towards keeping the river clean.During the drive, the chief minister said she found large quantities of broken idols and other religious offerings dumped along the riverbank."I found that a large quantity of broken pieces of idols of deities and other items used in worship were thrown into the river. Plastic was also thrown in large quantities," she said. Gupta said everyone who has faith in the Yamuna has a responsibility to keep it clean. She appealed to Delhi residents not to dump religious offerings, damaged idols, plastic wrappers or other waste in the river or at its ghats.She stressed the need for citizens to change their behaviour and ensure that waste does not reach the river, adding that the government was prioritising measures to control sources of pollution entering the Yamuna. The chief minister said the Delhi government was taking several steps to clean the river, including setting up decentralised sewage treatment plants to tap drain water flowing into it and desilting drains."The resolve to clean the Yamuna could be realised only when every section of society actively participates alongside the government's efforts," Gupta said.She added, "When thousands of citizens come together for a common cause, it becomes the foundation for a major change."Union Minister and Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra, Delhi ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ashish Sood, Pankaj Singh and Ravinder Indraj, along with BJP MPs and other senior leaders, took part in the campaign at various locations.Thousands of young people, members of resident welfare associations (RWAs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also participated in the clean-up drive, volunteering to remove waste from the river, according to a Delhi Chief Minister's Office statement.- EndsWith PTI inputs