BJP MLA falls into Yamuna while shooting reel for cleanup drive | VIDEO

New Delhi: A river-cleaning awareness shoot turned dramatic on Sunday when BJP MLA Ravi Negi accidentally slipped and fell into the Yamuna while filming a reel near one of the river ghats in Delhi. He was quickly rescued by his team and escaped unhurt, officials said.

The incident happened amid the BJP-led government’s ongoing drive to clean the Yamuna ahead of the Chhath festival. Videos of the fall went viral on social media, drawing sharp reactions from both BJP and AAP supporters.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP of “staging a fake Yamuna ghat with filtered water” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, alleging that ordinary devotees were still forced to perform rituals in polluted stretches.

BJP leaders dismissed the charges as “political frustration”, insisting that their government had made tangible progress in cleaning the Yamuna.

Earlier, Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma said the quality of Yamuna water had improved significantly compared to last year, citing data on faecal coliform bacteria levels.

“The quality of Yamuna river water ahead of Chhath is better than last year,” Verma said at a press conference held jointly with Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa.

According to Verma, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) collected water samples from eight points — including Palla, Wazirabad Barrage, Okhla Barrage, ITO and Yamuna Canal — on October 9 and 20.

“The faecal coliform bacteria concentration has come down to 7,900 units per 100 millilitres at Nizamuddin this year, from 11 lakh units last year,” he said.

The count also dropped from 920 to 600 units at Palla, 16,000 to 800 at Wazirabad, and 35,000 to 7,000 at ITO, according to the data shared by the minister.