Delhi plans chemical spray to curb toxic foam on the Yamuna before Chhath

Cold weather and turbulent flow at the Okhla barrage have produced a glacier-like layer of white foam on the Yamuna near Kalindi Kunj, where worshippers continue to gather for the Chhath festival. The foam consists of surfactants originating from untreated domestic sewage, industrial effluents, dhobi ghats and the breakdown of water hyacinth weeds. The Delhi Jal Board announced that it will deploy chemical defoamers in the coming weeks, a strategy first adopted after a 2022 meeting with the National Mission for Clean Ganga.

Experts, including activist Bhim Singh Rawat, argue that the defoaming effort merely masks the river’s severe pollution, which has worsened over the past decade due to failing sewage treatment plants and untreated discharges from drains at Akshardham, Khichdipur and the Railway Colony. A 2025 study by The Energy and Resources Institute highlighted the inability of existing treatment facilities to remove surfactants. Despite repeated warnings from agencies such as the CPCB, DPCC, HSPCB and NMCG, the problem persists, and the DJB spent around ₹80 lakh on chemicals for the latest anti-foam drive.