Amid record temperatures, Delhi Water Minister Atishi conducted a field inspection of the Wazirabad pond to address the city’s water crisis caused by a significant reduction in Delhi’s water share by the BJP-led Haryana government. Minister Atishi highlighted that Haryana is not providing Delhi with its full share of water, leading to Yamuna’s water level dropping by over 3.5 feet, from 674 feet to 670.3 feet. This reduction has caused panic in many areas as the water supplied to Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla treatment plants is insufficient. The Delhi Water Minister urged Delhi residents to use water sparingly and announced plans to write to the Haryana and Central governments to resolve the issue.
Notably, the Haryana government has drastically reduced the water supply to Delhi. This has deepened the water crisis in Delhi. To deal with this, Water Minister Atishi has geared up so that the people of Delhi do not have to face any problem. On Thursday, amid record temperatures, Minister Atishi conducted a field inspection of the Wazirabad pond. From here, the raw water of Yamuna is supplied to the water treatment plants of Delhi and they treat it. After this, it is supplied to different areas of Delhi. During the inspection, Minister Atishi instructed the officers of DJB to do water management in a better way, so that clean water can be provided to the people of every area of Delhi.
After inspecting the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant, Atishi said that Delhi is dependent on the Yamuna River for its entire water supply. The same water comes into the Yamuna River which is released from Haryana. “Today I have inspected the raw water coming from Yamuna to the Wazirabad pond. The water level here should be at 674 feet. The water meter installed here shows that on Thursday the water level of Wazirabad pond has come down by more than 3.5 feet from its normal level. The water level of Yamuna in Wazirabad is 670.3 feet. Last year on 30 May 2023, the water level at Wazirabad was 674.5 feet.” She added.
“The water coming into the Yamuna is supplied to Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla water treatment plants. If the water supply itself will reduce and the water in the water treatment plant will reduce, and less water will come to Yamuna from Haryana, then from where will the water treatment plant produce water?” the Water Minister reasoned.
The Minister said that we have also written a letter to the Haryana government. Today we will also contact the central government that Delhi should get its share of water. Due to the Haryana government not releasing water in the Yamuna, there is a lot of panic in different parts of Delhi regarding water supply.
She further added that the reason for the water shortage in Delhi is the Haryana government not releasing water in Yamuna. The water of the Yamuna River goes from Wazirabad pond to three big water treatment plants in Delhi, Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla. If Haryana is not releasing water and we are not getting water from the river, then how will the treatment plant be given water? Therefore, we will write to the Haryana government again today. We will also write to the Central Government. The country’s capital cannot be put into a water crisis due to the arbitrariness of Haryana.
On BJP’s allegation of a ‘Summer Action Plan’ and not doing water rationing, Minister Atishi said that water rationing is done when water consumption increases and the existing water supply is managed accordingly. For this, a plan of water tankers has been made, water supply is reduced in different areas. But the summer action plan also depends on the fact that the water supply remains at a normal level.
“Today, when Haryana is not releasing water and water is not going to the water treatment plant, then what will the summer action plan do? Water treatment plants cannot produce water. These plants can treat the water that comes from the Yamuna and supply it. What will the water treatment plant do if there is no water supply?” The Delhi Water Minister reasoned.
Appealing to Delhiites, Minister Atishi said, “I would like to tell all Delhiites to use water very carefully and judiciously. Do not waste water. Some areas are not facing a water crisis right now, so if these areas use water carefully, then we can supply water to the rest of Delhi as well where the people are facing a severe water crisis.”
