"In Mathura thousands of fish died due to Oxygen depletion in Yamuna water and heavy load of contaminants from upstream cities," said Jagan Nath Poddar, of the Friends of Vrindavan.

 Till a month ago the river was in spate and the mood was upbeat, but suddenly the water level has gone down and massive doses of pollutants flowing down the river, said Acharya Jaimini, Yamuna bhakt and musician of international fame. The open drains in Vrindavan and Mathura have not yet been tapped and the High Court directive to monitor the quality of Yamuna waters continuously for a fortnight has been ignored, he added.

 Fish deaths were reported at several points in Mathura Friday evening. When the Chatt worshippers went to the ghats, the sorry spectacle of thousands of dead fish floating in the water put them off.

Many returned without a holy dip and achman.

In Agra the main centre for Chatt puja was Balkeshwar and Hathi Ghats. "The level of pollution was high, but the devouts chose to ignore the inconvenience and the stink," said eco activist Ravi Singh.

The rituals started Friday evening and continued till early Saturday with hundreds of women standing in the water to perform the puja at the dawn. "This festival is mainly confined to people from Bihar and Eastern UP districts, but now many others have started joining the Vrat and Puja for the health and long life of family members," explained Nandan Shrotriya of the Sri Mathuradheeshji temple.