Parts of Delhi face water supply cuts for up to 72 hours after Munak canal leak

Residents from Rohini, Dwarka, Palam, Uttam Nagar, Hari Nagar, Avantika, Naraina, Nangloi, and Burari complained of prolonged disruptions.

Several parts of north, west and south-west Delhi continued to face severe water shortage on Sunday, with residents reporting dry taps for 48 to 72 hours after a leak in the Munak Carrier Lined Channel (CLC) canal disrupted the capital’s main raw water supply on Friday.

DJB officials said the damaged stretch of the canal was repaired late Friday night, but water could not be released immediately. (File Photo/ANI)

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials said the leak has been repaired and water flow through the canal has been restored. They said supply in the affected areas is expected to return to normal soon as the distribution system stabilises.

Residents from Rohini, Dwarka, Palam, Uttam Nagar, Hari Nagar, Avantika, Naraina, Nangloi and Burari complained of prolonged disruptions, with many saying they had not received any prior advisory.

Ajit Vishwakarma, a resident of Rajapuri in Uttam Nagar, said, “There has been no tap water supply for over 48 hours. How long will this continue?”

Kundan Kumar from Rohini’s Avantika Sector-1 said the locality had not received water for the past three days. “There has been no official notice,” he added.

In north Delhi’s Sant Nagar, Burari, residents said there had been no supply for nearly 72 hours.

Munak system comprises of two parallel canals -- the CLC canal and Delhi Sub-Branch (DSB). The CLC normally carries 719 cusecs of raw water to Delhi and supplies the largest share of the city’s water from Haryana.After the leak, inflow from the CLC dropped sharply to 92 cusecs, forcing authorities to divert part of the flow through the DSB canal.

As a result, the combined inflow from the CLC and DSB canals fell to 531 cusecs, against the normal combined supply of around 1,158 cusecs. This affected production at the Haiderpur, Dwarka, Bawana and Nangloi water treatment plants, leading to supply cuts.

DJB officials said the damaged stretch of the canal was repaired late Friday night, but water could not be released immediately as the cement used for the repair needed time to set. “Water was released only after the cement had dried completely. Most parts have started receiving water,” a DJB official said.

Officials said with the canal functioning normally again, water production at the affected treatment plants has resumed and supply is being restored in phases. However, they said it will take time for reservoirs to refill and for water to reach the tail-end areas of the distribution network.

Despite the assurances, complaints continued to pour in on Sunday from Rohini Sector-2, Avantika Sector-1, Rajapuri, Beriwala Bagh, Sant Nagar and Naraina, with residents urging the DJB to provide a timeline for complete restoration of supply.

Queries sent to the DJB spokesperson and officials from the water ministry remained unanswered.

This comes months after a shortfall in the city’s water supply as the Yamuna dried up in the summer heat. The supply had largely returned to normal earlier this month with heavy rainfall in the hills upstream.