The Yamuna river in Delhi has been polluted with toxic foam ahead of Chhath Puja. The foam is caused by high levels of ammonia, phosphates, and surfactants in the river. The surfactants come from untreated sewage from Delhi, Haryana, and UP. The ammonia levels are released from industrial pollutants. In 2021, devotees took a dip in the Yamuna river near Kalindi Kunj in Delhi on the first day of Chhath puja. Authorities deployed motorboats to disperse the toxic foam and erected barricades of bamboo sticks to keep it away from the river banks. In 2022, the government designated specific ghats along the Yamuna bank to celebrate the festival. In 2023, the festival is to begin on November 17 and end on November 20.
