On the last day of Chhath celebrations, devotees made offerings to Sun God while standing knee-deep in the water of toxic foam-laden Yamuna river, near Kalindi Kunj in Delhi on Thursday.
This comes just a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging decision to prohibit the devotees from performing Chhath Puja at the banks of the Yamuna river.
Meanwhile, the political tussle between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital and Bharatiya Janata Party continued after the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) order prohibited devotees from performing the rituals at the ghats of Yamuna to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday reached the Yamuna Ghat in Sonia Vihar and said that he will not follow the orders, adding that nobody can stop the people from performing the rituals.
Mr Tiwari's visit to the Yamuna Ghat came on the third day of the four-day-long festival. Denying to follow the DDMA order prohibiting celebrations of Chhath Puja at public places due to the threat of COVID-19, Mr Tiwari said, "We will not follow the DDMA order. No one can stop us from performing our rituals. DDMA's work is to clean the Yamuna and not to ban people from going there."
BJP West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma had also reached the Yamuna Ghat at Delhi's ITO on Wednesday.
"Earlier, police placed barricades here and stopped people. We came here and allowed their entry. We arranged clean water here. I am happy that people are performing their rituals of Chhath Puja," said Mr Verma while speaking to news agency ANI on Wednesday.
A hazardous foam was floating on the Yamuna river due to increased ammonia levels and high phosphate content, caused by the discharge of industrial pollutants including detergents into the river.
AAP leader Raghav Chadha has blamed the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for the pollution in the Yamuna river.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has deployed boats to remove the toxic foam that was formed in the Yamuna river amid severe criticism.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Over 500 Special Trains To Handle Festival Return Rush Video: Toxic Foam On Yamuna In Delhi Raises Concern As Chhath Puja Begins Bank Holiday On Chhath: Banks To Close For 4 Days In These States BJP's "Urban Naxals" Attack After Row Over "Red Book" At Rahul Gandhi Event Indian-Origin Woman Buys Matthew Perry's Los Angeles Home, Performs 'Puja' "As A Kashmiri...": Sajad Lone Joins Fight In House To Shield Kashmir MLA Top 10 Selling Cars In India In October 2024: Maruti Swift To Tata Nexon Shah Rukh Khan Gets Threat Call From Chhattisgarh, Mumbai Police File Case North Korean Soldiers Get Internet Access In Ukraine, Hooked On Porn: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.