As if the scorching heat with temperatures soaring several notches above the normal (47 degrees Celsius on Monday) was not enough, Delhi residents are having to struggle with frequent power outages and persistent water crisis which have exacerbated their plight.
A power outage at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the city threw operations into disarray, badly affecting working of boarding and check-in facilities.
The T3 terminal of the Delhi airport was choked due to power outage for a brief period. Digi Yatra and the check-in counters were also not functioning, creating chaos among the passengers.
An official statement by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), said, “Around 2pm on Monday, Delhi Airport’s Main Receiving Substation (MRSS) detected a significant voltage spike at the grid, said to be caused by the tripping of a 765KV line.
This voltage imbalance from the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) grid briefly impacted all IGI terminals, affecting baggage acceptance and e-gates.”
To maintain essential services, the airport proactively switched all terminals to DG load.
“The power back-up system, installed by DIAL, was operationalised within a few minutes, and all back-up procedures were initiated to facilitate passengers at all touch points,” said a DIAL spokesperson, adding that by 3:00 pm everything was stabilised.
In another incident, a technical problem caused by high ground temperatures caused an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bagdogra to get delayed at the IGI Airport for more than two hours.
The national Capital sizzled on Monday with Pitampura weather station recording the maximum temperature of 47.3 degrees Celsius, nine notches above the normal while the minimum temperature settled at 35.9 degrees Celsius, eight degrees Celsius above the normal.
Safdarjung, considered as a parameter for the whole of Delhi, recorded a maximum temperature of 45.2 degrees Celsius, 6.4 degrees above the normal.
The minimum temperature in Delhi settled at 33 degrees Celsius, 5.5 notches above the season’s average. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted an average to severe heatwave conditions and a warm night with strong surface winds.
It is predicted that similar weather conditions will persist on Tuesday as well.
The bad news for Delhiites, however, is that water supply will be affected in parts of the Lutyens’ Delhi as the Tilak Marg and Bengali Market underground water reservoirs are receiving less water from the Delhi Jal Board. According to New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) officials, there is a 40 per cent drop in supply being received from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in the NDMC area.
According to DJB, production of potable water from Wazirabad water plant is not at full capacity due to non-availability of raw water. So supply in command area of Tilak Marg underground water reservoir (UGR) and Bengali market UGR will be made once in a day, preferably in morning times.
Due to this, water supply will be affected in areas like Bengali Market, Ashoka Road, HC Mathur Lane, Copernicus Marg, Purana Quila Road, Babar Road, Barakhamba Road, K G Marg, Windsor Place, Firozshah Marg, Canning Lane and surrounding areas.
The ongoing heatwave continues to adversely affect vulnerable individuals, particularly those with pre-existing health conditions or co-morbidities. On Monday, doctors from the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital said that three persons were admitted to their newly set up heat stroke unit in a serious condition due to severe heat stroke.
Two of them, including an 80-year-old man and a 31- year-old woman, are in a critical condition and currently on ventilators, battling complications. The woman has high BP. The doctors also said that the patients exhibited symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, and unstable blood pressure, directly attributed to their prolonged exposure to the scorching heat.
Meanwhile, BJP held protests at 52 major locations in the city against the water crisis, which it blamed on the negligence of the Arvind Kejriwal Government. At the protest at Krishna Nagar, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva stated, “By sheltering water thieves and tanker mafias, Aam Aadmi Party legislators have turned water into a business, regardless of whether the people of Delhi get water or not.”
Hitting back, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the water crisis in Delhi has been “deliberately created” by the BJP to keep the people of the national capital thirsty. He accused BJP of hatching a conspiracy against the residents of the national capital.
