Water crisis enters third day even as all DJB treatment plants start production

Water crisis enter its third day on Tuesday as 3 Delhi Jal Board water treatment plants were shut in Delhi due a leakage in the carrier lined channel (CLC) and “dangerously high” levels of ammonia in raw water.

Water crisis continued for people in some areas of the city for the third day even as the three Delhi Jal Board water treatment plants (WTPs), which were shut down on Sunday, are fully functional.

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Keshav Chandra said it will take a day or two for the supply system to stabilise.(Sanchit Khanna/HT File Photo)

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Keshav Chandra said it will take a day or two for the supply system to stabilise. “The underground reservoirs were all empty because of the crisis. It will take some time for the situation to completely normalise,” he added.

Water supply to over 7-8 lakh households in several areas in north and central Delhi was hit on Sunday as the Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal WTPs were shut due to a leakage in the carrier lined channel (CLC) and “dangerously high” levels of ammonia in raw water. The ammonia level had risen to 3.8ppm against the permissible limit of 0.2ppm, in the raw water available at the plants.

On Tuesday, many parts of Dwarka either did not receive water at all or the supply remained scarce.

“We have not received any water since Sunday and have been relying on tankers. If there is a problem then at least the tanker visits should be prompt and regular. Instead, we have had to call the DJB units five times before we got a tanker to come to our society,” said Praveen Kumar, a resident of Dwarka Sector-6.

Sectors 19, 21, 23, 7, 1, and 3, were the worst hit by the shortage.

“We thought the situation will be back to normal today (on Tuesday) but in the morning there was no water. We live in a joint family and have a baby. Too many days without water becomes difficult,” said Sadhna Nigam, a resident of Sector-3, on Tuesday.

Because of flushing programme of underground reservoir and booster pumping station, water supply was available at low pressure on Tuesday at areas like Sukhdev Vihar DDA Flats, Multani Dhanda, Paharganj, Paschim Vihar, Madipur, Multan Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Mera Bagh, Syad Gaon area, Rana Pratap Bagh, Adrash Nagar, Model Down, Sangam Park, Geeta Colony, Laxmi Nagar and Ramesh Park.