Satyendar Jain calls out Haryana for not releasing 'Delhi's share of water', residents suffer

The Delhi Jal Board has said water supply will be affected in several parts of the national capital owing to depletion of pond level of the Yamuna river at Wazirabad treatment plant and reduction in release of raw water from Haryana.

A day after the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said water supply in several parts of the national capital will be affected starting Tuesday (May 17), minister Satyender Jain blamed neighbouring Haryana for not “releasing Delhi's fair share of water”.

People fill their containers from Delhi Jal Board's water tankers in New Delhi on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, due to a severe supply disruption amid scorching heat.(Sanchit Khanna/HT)

“Yamuna's water level has fallen from 674.5 feet to 669 feet i.e.; a fall of 5.5 feet (above sea level). Hence, water production in our water treatment plan (WTP) is reduced by 60-70 MGD,” the water minister wrote on Twitter.

Jain added that he visited the Wazirabad Barrage, which runs across the Yamuna river, to “inspect raw water discharged by Haryana”.

A video shared by ANI showed people tying up multiple water cans with a metal chain as they filled them from DJB's tankers in Vasant Vihar. A woman said if the water in tankers finish by the time their turn comes, they end up with nothing and it leads to fights among locals.

Visuals from other parts of the national capital showed similar scenes with residents making a beeline with water cans to store water from government tankers.

On Monday, the DJB said water supply will be affected owing to depletion of pond level of the Yamuna at Wazirabad and reduction in release of raw water from Haryana. Adding that water production had been impacted not only at Wazirabad but also at the two other downstream barrages - Chandrawal and Okhla, the board advised citizens to store adequate quantities of water beforehand. “Water tankers will be available on request,” a statement by the DJB read.

The board said water supply will be affected till the pond level improves to normal. Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Old and New Rajinder Nagar, Kalkaji, Shakti Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Ramlila Ground, Burari, Greater Kailash, and parts of Cantonment area are some of the places where the DJB said water supply will be affected. Last week, the level in the Wazirabad pond had dropped to 670.7 feet.

The DJB had moved the Supreme Court last year after the pond level had dipped to 667 feet on July 11, seeking directions to Haryana to release additional water in the Yamuna.

The water crisis comes amid a blistering heatwave in Delhi, with temperatures hitting a record 49 degrees Celsius at Mungeshwar and Najafgarh stations on Saturday and Sunday. The temperature has since dropped marginally, and was recorded at 42.4 degrees Celsius at Safdarjung observatory - the national capital's base weather station, on Tuesday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).