Delhi water crisis: Supply improves a bit, AAP MLAs meet LG Saxena

Delhi has been facing varying levels of water shortfall over the past month, with the first spell clocked towards the end of May.

Delhi’s water supply improved marginally on Sunday, to 906 million gallons a day (mgd), from a seasonal low of 888mgd on Friday and 896mgd on Saturday, as water minister Atishi’s indefinite hunger strike entered its third day given that the Capital was still grappling with a shortfall of around 94mgd on the day.

People line up to get their fill of water from a tanker at Baljeet Nagar. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

On Sunday, a delegation of senior AAP MPs and MLAs also met Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena seeking his intervention in getting raw water from Haryana for a one-week period, till the arrival of monsoon.

‘You are not Haryana’s LG': AAP's retort to Delhi LG amid water crisis in city

Delhi urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the delegation had a positive discussion. “We told LG that there is a shortage of raw water coming from Haryana due to which millions of people in Delhi are facing problems. Rain has started in Shimla and Himachal. So much water will come in the next week that Haryana will not be able to stop it even if it wants to. Now it is just a matter of a week. We have requested LG to talk to the Haryana government. LG has assured that he will talk to the Haryana government,” he said.

The LG secretariat, in a statement, said the meeting took place around 12.15pm.

“LG assured that he would take up the matter of release of water on humanitarian grounds with the CM of Haryana, as requested by the AAP delegation. In the meanwhile, a press release was issued by the AAP at around 3.30pm, again resorting to characteristic blame game. However, LG spoke to CM Haryana at around 4pm. The Haryana CM has assured that he would seriously look into the matter and try to help tide over the situation, to the farthest possible extent.”

The statement added that the LG observed that share of Yamuna water fixed by the Upper Yamuna River Board had been upheld time and again by the Supreme Court, most recently a week ago.The LG also said that Delhi should reduce leakages, theft and augment its own water storage capacity.

The delegation comprised 10 AAP members, including Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and ND Gupta, general secretary Pankaj Gupta, minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, and MLAs Dilip Pandey, Somnath Bharti, Rajesh Gupta, Rituraj Jha and others. AAP, in a statement, said that Delhi is receiving 113mgd less than its allotment.

After the meeting, Sanjay Singh said, “We told LG that Delhi is getting the same amount of water today as was allocated for it in 1994. Whereas in the 30 years since, Delhi’s population has increased threefold. We told him that ₹500 crore was spent on eliminating the leakage of Munak canal and 12,000 kilometres of pipeline was laid in Delhi. The Delhi government has made a lot of efforts at its level. During this, LG has also given some suggestions, on which it was agreed to work together.”

Delhi has been facing varying levels of water shortfall over the past month, with the first spell clocked towards the end of May, but the supply resumed to above 1,000mgd in early June. However, it started falling again from June 8, fluctuating between 900 and 950mgd. It dipped further, hitting the season’s lowest level on June 21, when supply shrank to 888mgd.

There was also only 901mgd of supply on June 16, when the main south Delhi supply line was damaged, causing a shortage in tail-end areas, leading to lower supply pressures and curtailed supply timings.

While the matter was taken up at the Supreme Court level, under the Upper Yamuna River Board, Haryana maintained that water was being provided to Delhi based on the 1994 water-sharing agreement.

Delhi water minister Atishi, during her satyagraha, said: “Delhi supply is 1,005mgd water, of which 613mgd comes from Haryana. But over the past three weeks, Haryana has reduced the quantum of water for Delhi. We are only getting 513mgd water, leading to shortage of around 100mgd. This impacts around 2.8 million people. Haryana claims that they don’t have water, but pictures show Hathnikund barrage if full of water. The gates leading towards Delhi have been shut.”

“I will continue my fast till the gates of Hathinikund barrage are opened,” she said.

The AAP, meanwhile, said that doctors recorded a drop in Atishi’s blood pressure, weight and sugar level. “Compared to the first day of the fast, the blood sugar level of the Delhi water minister has dropped by 26 units. Also, her diastolic (lower) blood pressure has also reached 56 mmHg. The urine ketone level has also turned positive,” AAP said in a statement.

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Virendra Sachdeva said: “The Delhi government is responsible for solving the water crisis. But they are running away from their responsibilities to do political drama and fast. Haryana CM and officers have provided reports stating that enough water is being provided. Still, they continue to blame Haryana and not even once have they sought water from Himachal or Punjab. If they control water theft and leakages, the water crisis in Delhi can end.”

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Sunday said production was less on account of lower water availability of raw water at its treatment plants, with the Wazirabad plant worst impacted, as it was operating at a capacity of 83mgd against a capacity of 134mgd.

Delhi water crisis: ‘Solution lies in cooperation’, L-G VK Saxena tells AAP delegation

Similarly, the largest water treatment plant in the city, at Haiderpur, supplied 218mgd water against a target of 241mgd. This facility supplies water to west and northwest Delhi and directly feeds on raw water coming through Munak CLC and DSB canals from Haryana.

Relatively smaller shortfalls were observed at other plants too, but treatment plants in east Delhi, at Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi, were not impacted as they draw water from the Upper Ganga Canal.