Water supply rationing to continue till Gurugram gets more Yamuna water

Gurugram civic body has appealed to residents to use treated water judiciously until the raw water supply situation is brought under control by the irrigation department.

The rationing of treated water supply for the city residents will continue for the next couple of days till the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) starts getting an adequate amount of raw Yamuna water from the Haryana irrigation department, said a GMDA official familiar with the matter on Monday.

The rationing of treated water supply for the city residents will continue for the next couple of days till the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) starts getting an adequate amount of raw Yamuna water. (Yogendra Kumar/HT File PHOTO)

Meanwhile, the GMDA has appealed to residents to use treated water judiciously until the raw water supply situation is brought under control by the irrigation department. The rationing has not caused severe water shortage for residents till now, officials said, adding that the impact may be visible if the situation persists.

“Since Saturday, we have curtailed water supply in the afternoon when water consumption is lower,” said a GMDA official, on the condition of anonymity.

The GMDA has informed the chief minister’s office of the situation. Lalit Arora, chief engineer GMDA, said, “We have brought the issue to the notice of the Haryana government, seeking police help to check if the theft of raw water from the canal is the reason behind the short supply of raw water to our treatment plant.”

Theft in the Gurgaon Water Supply Canal (GWSC) by locals for watering crops in Bahadurgarh has reduced the water level in the canal, Arora said. The Haryana irrigation department, the custodian of the canal, wrote to the GMDA on Saturday, requesting water rationing till the matter is resolved.

The GMDA supplied 490 million litres daily (MLD) treated water to the city till Friday, followed by 470 MLD on Saturday and 440 MLD on Sunday. The supply was reduced to 400-410 MLD on Monday. The GMDA, on an average, supplies 470-490 MLD of water to residents.

“The theft of GWSC water has affected the Basai plant, which is getting 30 cusecs less raw Yamuna water since Friday. Our rationing of the treated water supply to city residents will continue till the Basai plant starts getting the normal 140 cusecs of raw water,” said a GMDA official.

The irrigation department supplies Yamuna water to half of Haryana and Delhi through the western Yamuna Canal.

“Our vigilance team has found 50 motors installed along the GWSC between Kakroi and Munda Khera (12km from the Basai plant). These motors are used by locals to water rice (paddy) crops illegally. In the absence of rain, farmers use canal water mainly after sunset. We have no manpower so we failed to impound them and have sought police help,” said an irrigation department official.

The office of additional chief secretary (ACS), irrigation, Haryana government has taken cognizance of the situation. “We have issued instructions to the state police to take action. I will review the situation on Wednesday,” said Anurag Rastogi, ACS irrigation, Haryana government