Water supply hit for 5th day as Chandrawal repairs continue

Water supply in central and north Delhi remains disrupted for five days due to repairs at the Chandrawal treatment plant, with limited daily availability.

Water supply remained disrupted in parts of central and north Delhi on Friday for the fifth consecutive day, as the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) continued repair work at the Chandrawal water treatment plant (WTP) to restore normal supply.

The Delhi government said the plant was made operational in a phased manner on Wednesday. (HT Archive)

Supply from the plant was halted on Sunday owing to flooding in the pump house, and operations have since only partially resumed.

On Friday, the DJB said teams were working on a war footing to restore normal operations, adding that full capacity is expected to be restored by Saturday.

“Currently, out of the total pumping capacity of 58 million gallons per day (MGD), supply of 47 MGD has been restored. The remaining 11 MGD is expected to be restored by tomorrow (Saturday),” the DJB said in a statement.

The DJB also released a revised water supply roster, stating that water will be available only once a day in parts of the city, instead of the usual twice-daily supply.

Areas such as Hindu Rao Hospital, Civil Lines, Kamla Nagar, Roop Nagar, Shakti Nagar, parts of Delhi University, Vijay Nagar, Paharganj, Karol Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Patel Nagar and East Patel Nagar will receive water in the morning, while parts of Shastri Nagar and Inderlok will get supply in the evening as restoration work continues.

Akanksha Singh, a West Patel Nagar resident, said it had been nearly a week since her block last received water, even as nearby pockets had access. “Helpline numbers of the DJB are simply not being answered,” she said.

Another resident, Arun Arora, said there was still no water supply in Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar and Rajendra Nagar on Friday. “Tankers are back,” he said.

The Delhi government said the plant was made operational in a phased manner on Wednesday; however, residual moisture has caused repeated faults in the repaired motors during operations, affecting normal supply.

“To provide interim relief and ensure continued water availability, around 100 additional water tankers have been deployed in the affected areas. These tankers have been strategically diverted from other parts of Delhi to maintain equitable supply during the disruption,” the government said in a statement on Friday.