By AFP - Agence France Presse
Hindus in India bathe in a sacred river contaminated by pollution
NEW DELHI: Sweeping aside thick toxic scum, thousands of Hindu devotees ignored court warnings Thursday not to bathe in the sacred but sewage-filled Yamuna river, a grim demonstration of environmental degradation in India's capital.
Thousands of people celebrated the Chhath Puja festival for the Hindu sun god Surya, entering the fetid waters to pray as the evening rays set in the sky.
In February, a parliamentary report called the Yamuna “more of a toxic watercourse than a river,” saying that the foam clouds were formed by a potent chemical soup that included laundry detergent and phosphates from fertilizers.
“Please understand that you will fall ill,” said a high court order on Wednesday, Indian media reported, restricting ritual bathing on health grounds. “We cannot allow you to enter the water.”
But housewife Krishnawati Devi, 45, said she wasn't worried.
“I believe that the waters of the river are pure and blessed by the sun god himself,” she said. “Nothing will happen to me - God will care for everything.”
The Hindu faithful ignored the order, with women dressed in fine saris and heavy jewelry entering the gray waters.
White foam swirled around their feet. In some places, the foam was so thick that it looked like the river had frozen.
“Chhath is a festival of unwavering faith,” said Avinash Kumar, 58, a government office worker. “We can also say prayers at home, but it doesn't feel the same as praying in the river.”
Others played drums and sang.
The Delhi authorities poured in anti-foaming agents to disperse the foam and used nets to sweep up the scum but did nothing to clean the fetid water itself.
“It stinks, but everything is fine,” said 14-year-old student Deepa Kumari. “The important thing is celebrating on the river with our people.”
The rituals of the festival, which lasts for days, end at dawn on Friday.
“I don't worry about pollution,” said Pooja Prasad, 20, a student. “The mother goddess will take care of all our problems,” she added.
The sprawling megacity, with around 30 million people, is also choked with poisonous smoke fueled by the burning of crop fields and vehicle exhaust fumes.
Levels of fine particulate matter - dangerous microparticles known as PM2.5 pollutants that enter the bloodstream through the lungs - this week exceeded 50 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization.
“Toxi-city”, the broadcasters dubbed the capital.
The municipal authorities have declared repeated efforts to clean up the river.
From an icy source in a Himalayan glacier, the Yamuna feeds the mighty Ganges, flowing more than 3,100 kilometers (1,925 miles) to the sea in the Bay of Bengal.
But just 400 kilometers into this journey, the water flowing past New Delhi is effectively dead.
The parliamentary report warned of the “excessive presence of heavy metals” and cancer-causing pollutants, ranging from arsenic to zinc everything from batteries to pesticides.
“The contamination (...) turns it into a vehicle for transporting untreated industrial waste, garbage, agricultural runoff, and municipal waste,” the report said.
“This has a profound effect on the well-being of the population.”
Government statistics say that 80% of the pollution load is raw sewage, far exceeding the levels permitted for bathing.
Some of the faithful traditionally drink the water.
Levels fluctuate, but at one point in 2021 in south Delhi, fecal bacteria levels exceeded maximum health regulations by 8,800 times.
But many say they are frustrated by the situation.
“The river is sacred to us, but all the filth from the nearby industrial belt is being pumped into it,” added Kumar.
“Every year, they say they will clean it up, but nothing happens.”
sai-abh-pjm/ssy
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