Denton, TX, March 26, 2026: A viral TikTok video showing a group of Indian Americans performing Chhath Puja at a lake in Denton has triggered a wave of online reactions, with some Texas residents raising environmental concerns while others have pushed back against what they describe as culturally insensitive criticism.
The video appears to show devotees offering milk and prayers into the lake as part of the Hindu festival, which is traditionally observed by standing in water at sunrise or sunset and making offerings to the Sun God. The ritual is widely practiced in parts of India and among diaspora communities worldwide.
Several social media users criticized the act, arguing that pouring milk into a public water body could harm aquatic ecosystems. One commenter wrote that such actions “pollute local waterways and harm fish and aquatic life,” while another claimed that milk, as organic waste, can increase biological oxygen demand in water and affect oxygen levels for aquatic species…