India, Feb. 20 -- The water at the Sangam site is fit for both bathing and ritual drinking, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday, dismissing reports by India's pollution watchdog that warned earlier this week of high faecal matter contamination at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.

Speaking in the assembly, Adityanath said reports of severe contamination of Maha Kumbh water were misleading, days after the Central Pollution Control Board told the National Green Tribunal that water at several locations at the Maha Kumbh was contaminated with high levels of faecal coliform and not fit for bathing.

Adityanath pointed to reports by the state pollution control board and said that all the pipes and drains in and around the ...