"Haryana blocking Delhi's share of water", says Atishi as national capital reels under water crisis
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing water crisis here in the national capital, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Atishi claimed on Saturday that neighbouring state Haryana is blocking Delhi's share of water.
"On one hand, the Supreme Court is trying to solve the water crisis in Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh is ready to give more water to Delhi. On the other hand, Haryana is blocking Delhi's share of water," Atishi said while speaking to reporters in Delhi.
"Under the agreement between Haryana, Delhi, and the entire Upper Yamuna region regarding water, 1050 cusecs of water come to Delhi through the Munak Canal. Two sub-canals of the Munak Canal supply water here. It is measured by the flow meter installed here. If we look at the data from the last five years, out of the 1,050 cusecs of water released by Haryana, 1000 to 980 cusecs of water reach Delhi. But for the last five days, this amount of water has been continuously decreasing. At least 1,000 cusecs of water should reach Delhi, but since June 1, it has decreased a lot. On June 7, only 840 cusecs of water reached Delhi," she added.
Atishi further stated that if the water supply doesn't reach all seven treatment plants in Delhi, there will be "chaos" in the entire city.
"The effect of Delhi getting so little water will be felt at all seven water treatment plants, Bawana, Nangloi, Haiderpur, Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla. If water is not supplied to all seven treatment plants, then there will be chaos in the whole of Delhi. Till now, only some parts of Delhi have been affected by water, in the coming days, this problem will be seen in the whole of Delhi," said the AAP minister.
Taking a swipe at the Haryana government, she stated, "We are standing at the entry point of water in Delhi. The flow meter here shows that there was a huge decrease in water yesterday. The Haryana government should explain that if they released all the water, then where did the water go? Out of 1050 cusecs of water, at least 1000 cusecs should have been reached. 100-150 cusecs of water cannot disappear. This means that the Haryana government is releasing less water and is deliberately trying to trouble the people of Delhi. This is also an insult to the Supreme Court."
Meanwhile, given the rising temperatures and heatwaves, the national capital is reeling under a water crisis.
Ambati, a resident of Delhi Geeta colony, told ANI that she has to face a lot of trouble fetching water from the tankers.
"Bahut dukhi hote hain hum! (We have to face a lot of trouble). We get only one tanker, from which we have to fetch water. We have no other option, though," she said.
Another resident of Geeta colony, Ghanshyam Jha, said, "We have to face the water crisis daily. We have to bear a lot of trouble while getting water from tankers. Sometimes, we skip work due to this. One tanker doesn't seem to be enough for the entire population of this colony but anyway, we only get one."
Visuals showed throngs of people gathered at the spot, waiting to fetch water from the tanker. The record-high temperatures and heatwave in Delhi, which has resulted in maximum temperature rising to around 50 degrees Celsius at some places, have caused an extraordinary and excessive surge in water demand in the city.
