Thousands of Hindus bathe in river covered in toxic foam

Celebrations for the Chhath Puja festival in Delhi were marred by the polluted river Yamuna

A Hindu worshipper performs rituals in the River Yamuna, which is covered by chemical foam caused by industrial and domestic pollution, during the Chhath Puja festival in New Delhi, India. AP

Devotees offer prayers to the Sun god while standing in the water. AFP

The foam is caused partly by phosphates and surfactants from untreated sewage. Reuters

Men stand on a canoe as rituals are performed in the river. AFP

Chhath Puja is the worship of the setting and rising sun. It is dedicated to Chhathi Mai, the goddess of power. EPA

The festival celebrates devotion and cultural bonds, and is characterised by the distribution of fruits and sweetmeats. Bejewelled women in colourful saris visit the banks of rivers. EPA

During Chhath, rituals are performed to thank the sun god for sustaining life on Earth. AP

Thousands of people gathered along a sacred river in the Indian capital on Wednesday, to celebrate a Hindu festival, only to find it filled with toxic white foam.

Devotees still performed dipping rituals and frolicked in the froth, despite Delhi authorities banning gatherings on the Yamuna – one of the most revered rivers for Hindus, but also the most polluted – over pandemic fears.

They were there to celebrate Chhath Puja, a three-day festival that comes after Diwali.

The festival is popular in eastern Bihar state and involves women fasting and offering prayers to a sun deity while standing knee-deep in the river on the last day.

Many devotees found themselves surrounded by mounds of white foam blamed on the city’s sewage waste and industrial effluent.

Videos and photos posted on social media showed women and children wading through dark-coloured river water and merrily tossing the foam around with their hands.

Experts blame hundreds of small factories and the city’s largely untreated sewage for the froth that covers the section of the river in the region after the monsoon season.

The 1,370-kilometre river is a tributary of the Ganges. It originates from the Himalayan Uttarakhand state and flows through Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Much of the pollution is caused by wastewater discharged by garment-dyeing industries, toxic effluent from factories and untreated sewage from households in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi dumps about 720 million gallons of wastewater into the river while Uttar Pradesh about 155 million gallons of untreated sewage every day.

The appalling scenes at the festival prompted safety concerns from health experts, environmentalists and triggered an embarrassingly last-ditch attempt clean-up drive by the government.

A couple poses during a pre-wedding photo shoot near India's Presidential Palace, which is shrouded in smog, in New Delhi, India. Reuters

People make their way along a street amid smoggy conditions. AFP

An Indian paramilitary soldier walks near India Gate, which is shrouded in smog. Reuters

Commuters make their way along a street amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi. AFP

A woman lights sparklers as she celebrates Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights. AFP

Sparklers light up the night sky during Diwali celebrations near New Delhi. EPA

Revellers light firecrackers. AFP

A roadside vendor lights up a firecracker on a gas stove in New Delhi. AP Photo

Children play with firecrackers. AP Photo

People set off firecrackers on the terrace of a building. AP Photo

More than 15 boats equipped with large sheets of cloth were seen pushing the foam away from the banks while workers sprinkled freshwater from using pipes to dissolve it.

Dozens of bamboo barricades were also erected to keep the foam away from the banks as scores of policemen made unsuccessful attempts to drive away the believers.

The upsetting scenes also triggered a political slugfest between the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Successive governments have announced plans to clean and revive the river in their poll promises, including Mr Kejriwal’s administration that in 2020 pledged to reduce Yamuna’s pollution levels by 90 per cent by 2023.