Senior AAP leader and Delhi Water Minister Atishi wrote letters to two Chief Ministers, including Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath and Haryana’s Naib Singh Saini, urging them to release additional water to Delhi amid water shortage and prevailing heatwave condition in the national Capital on Friday.
Delhi gets 90 per cent of its water from the two neighbouring states—around 65 per cent from Haryana and 25 per cent from Uttar Pradesh. Several parts across the capital city including Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Mehrauli, Badarpur, Tughlaqabad, Bijwasan, Ghitorni, Kanjhawala, Malviya Nagar, Seema Puri, Mangolpuri, Chanakya puri, Yamuna Vihar, are among those areas, facing short supply of water for the past few days.
The Supreme Court will hear a plea from the Delhi government on Monday, requesting Haryana to release surplus water supplied by Himachal Pradesh to alleviate Delhi's current water crisis. Meanwhile, in a letter to Saini and Yogi, she appealed, “I am writing this letter to draw your immediate attention to the water crises that Delhi is facing at the moment. With temperatures soaring beyond 50 degrees Celsius, the demand for water is at an all-time high in Delhi. This is one of the worst summers that Delhi has witnessed so far. The government of NCT of Delhi is doing its maximum best to increase the production capacity of its water treatment plants.”
She added that despite this the intensity of the heatwave is such that the national capital would require help from all quarters to cater to the people of Delhi. “As a neighbouring state, we therefore request Uttar Pradesh lend a helping hand to Delhi in this time of crisis, and release additional water to Delhi for a period of one month till the arrival of the monsoons,” she said to UP Chief Minister.
Further, she stated to him, “Water is one commodity which is essential for the existence of all human beings. Clean drinking water is the right of each and every citizen of this country. In-fact, all our ancient texts teach us that giving water to the thirsty is a very noble act. Through this letter I wish to appeal to you to kindly consider our request and provide additional water to Delhi for the next one month so that people living in Delhi can comfortably surpass these peak summers. The Delhi Government and people living in the national capital will be anxiously waiting for a positive response.”
In her letter to Haryana Chief Minister, Atishi reiterated that the water level of Yamuna river has fallen and hence creating a water shortage in the city. “Yesterday, on a visit to Wazirabad Barrage, I found that the water level at the pond was 670.3 feet as against the normal of 674.50 feet. This reduction in water level has adversely affected water production capacity of our water treatment plants. This has led to severe water shortage in many parts of the national capital. The Government of NCT of Delhi has taken several steps to ensure that there is no water wastage in the national capital, going to the extent of rationalising water,” she stated.
Atishi appealed to Saini to release additional water and said, “Through this letter I wish to appeal to you to kindly consider our request and release additional water in Yamuna at least for the next one month so that people living in Delhi can comfortably surpass this peak summer. The Delhi Government and people living in the national capital will be anxiously waiting for a positive response.”
Last week, the government announced a fine of Rs 2,000 for those who waste water by washing their vehicles using hoses and those who let their water tanks overflow. In its summer bulletin, the Delhi Jal Board on Saturday has claimed that it has produced 993.76 MGD water which is 37.76 MGD more than its actual capacity.
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva has condemned Water Minister Ms. Atishi for playing politics in the name of water crisis.Sachdeva has said that there is no shortage of raw water in Delhi as both Haryana & Uttarakhand are giving excess water on daily basis which can be verified from Delhi Jal Board record.
