Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, expressing the national capital region’s ability to send 1 million litres of water to the drought-hit Latur per day for two months.
Read more | Latur’s water train reaches today, Kejriwal says Delhi ready to help
“The people of Delhi are ready to give 10 lakh litres (1 million liters) of water to Latur per day. If the central government can make arrangements to send this water to Latur, the Delhi Government will make this water available immediately,” the letter stated.
“Even though water is always in short supply in Delhi, the horrific condition in Latur makes extending help to the people every Indian’s responsibility. If you deem fit, one appeal can also be made to every Chief Minister. I am hopeful every state will extend its help for this cause,” the letter read, adding it would be a matter of shame if people died due to water crisis in India in the 21st century.
{{/usCountry}}“Even though water is always in short supply in Delhi, the horrific condition in Latur makes extending help to the people every Indian’s responsibility. If you deem fit, one appeal can also be made to every Chief Minister. I am hopeful every state will extend its help for this cause,” the letter read, adding it would be a matter of shame if people died due to water crisis in India in the 21st century.
{{/usCountry}}Read more | Met’s pre-monsoon outlook predicts abnormally hot summer this year
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) supplies close to 900 million gallons of water to the city per day. This translates to about 340 crore litres of water. Sending 10 lakh liters out of this to Latur per day will hardly dent Delhi’s water availability, DJB board officials claimed.
Watch: Special train reaches drought-hit Latur
Kejriwal appealed to Delhiites through Twitter on Monday, asking if they were ready to save some water to aid the Marathwada region in Maharashtra where Latur is located. The region is facing its worst draught season.
The central government on Tuesday sent across five lakh litres of water by train, while arrangements are being made for a second delivery in a few days.
Read more | Drought-hit Latur gets 5 lakh litres water, courtesy 10-wagon train