Delhi water crisis: 25% supply to be restored by evening, says govt
The Delhi government said on Monday it is expecting to restore 25% of water supply, which was disrupted due to the Jat agitation, by late evening.
The Delhi government said on Monday it is expecting to restore 25% of water supply, which was disrupted due to the Jat agitation, by late evening.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Centre and the army for taking control of the strategic Munak canal that is a major source of water to the national capital.
“Thank u army, thank u centre for securing munak canal back. Great relief for delhi,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.
Kejriwal had said this morning that water was completely used up in Delhi and appealed to the Centre to intervene immediately and get the supply restored from the canal.
After an emergency meeting held at deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s residence to assess the situation, Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra said that 400 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water was released from Munak sub-canal, adding that 25%of water supply in Delhi is expected to be restored by evening.
“About 400 cusecs of water has been released from the Kuchha sub-branch of Munak, out of which nearly 300 cusecs will reach Delhi in 6-7 hours. A team of DJB is on standby and as soon as it reaches the Haidarpur treatment plant, supply will be started,” he said.
“We hope that by late evening, we will be able to restore 25% water supply in Delhi,” he said.
The canal has a ‘pucca’ and a ‘kuchha’ system. The gates of pucca canal are still closed and these have been damaged by protesters. A special team of DJB has been sent to assess the damage and time required to repair it, the minister said.
The water released through kuchha sub-branch will reach Delhi by late evening, helping in partial restoration of water supply, he said.
“Partial supply of water will be restored but it will take 7-10 more days in repairing Munak canal and till then, scarcity of water will exist... ” Mishra said.
He also said that Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants -- affected due to high levels of ammonia in Yamuna water -- were also likely to be started on Monday.
“Wazirabad and Chandrawal plants are also being watched for ammonia level. Both plants are likely to be started today,” he said.