Kejriwal's 'Poison in Yamuna' claim debunked: Data reveals otherwise

New Delhi: Amidst the shocking claim by Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal that Haryana government is mixing poison in Yamuna to kill lakhs of people in Delhi, Info In Data (@infoindata) on X debunked the lies of the former chief minister.

The video titled "Who Is 'Actually' Poisoning Our Yamuna River?" shows stark reality of the river's condition, contrasting its relatively clean state before entering Delhi with the severely polluted state it turns into as it flows through the capital city. 

The data shows how the concentration of pollutants like Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and ammonia spikes dramatically as the river passes through Delhi, with BOD levels rising from 2 mg/l upon entry to 85 mg/l upon exit, and ammonia from 5.5 mg/l to 56.1 mg/l.

Debunking the Truth of Yamuna Poisoning

What happens to the Yamuna River once it enters Delhi and how the concentration of the pollutants rises sharply as it passes through the national capital? pic.twitter.com/pPyX2gPjh7

— infoindata (@infoindata) January 30, 2025

The Yamuna River, vital for over 57 million people, faces severe pollution, with Delhi contributing to about 80% of this pollution over a mere 22 km stretch of its total length. This pollution is primarily from untreated sewage and industrial waste, despite ongoing efforts like the Yamuna Action Plan, which has been in operation since 1993 to restore the river's health.

Kejriwal, who is out on bail in Delhi liquor scam, visited Election Commission office to submit his reply to the EC notice. 

In his reply, he said his remarks were in context of the "unprecedented high levels of ammonia in the raw water".

In his six-page written reply addressed to the chief election commissioner (CEC), Kejriwal also accused Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini of hatching a "conspiracy" to "influence" the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls by sending highly-polluted waters to the national capital.

Accompanied by Delhi and Punjab chief ministers Atishi and Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor submitted his reply to EC officials over the poll panel's notice to him in the matter. The AAP leaders also carried three bottles of ammonia-mixed water for the election commissioners to drive home their point.

In his reply, Kejriwal said the "poison" found mixed with the Yamuna water was "ammonia".

He referred to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials for details like evidence of mixing poison and its methodology.

Kejriwal told reporters on January 27 that the "BJP government in Haryana has mixed poison in the water supplied to Delhi through the Yamuna. Thanks to DJB engineers, who caught it and stopped the water, it did not enter Delhi. If that water got mixed with drinking water, a mass genocide would have happened".

He had further accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of mixing "poison" in the water supplied to Delhi to trigger a chaos, so that the AAP could be blamed for people dying.

The AAP supremo was issued a notice by the EC over the matter on a complaint from the BJP. In response to a second notice, Kejriwal submitted his reply, saying "categorically and explicitly" that his alleged statement was made in reference to the "unprecedented and dangerously-high" levels of ammonia in the raw water being supplied to Delhi from Haryana.