Delhi Water Minister Atishi has unveiled a deliberate plot to sabotage the national capital’s main water pipeline, intensifying the ongoing water crisis. In a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Delhi Water Minister demanded immediate deployment of police personnel to safeguard the critical infrastructure from further tampering and vandalism. Minister Atishi cited a recent incident where six bolts of the South Delhi Rising Main Pipeline at Garhi Mendu were maliciously cut, slashing the water supply to South Delhi by 25%. Though swiftly repaired by the Delhi Jal Board, the attack highlights an urgent need for heightened security to protect Delhi’s vital water resources.
Bringing notice to the conspiracy Delhi Water Minister Atishi writes to the Delhi Police Commissioner, “As you know Delhi is reeling under a severe heat wave and a water crisis. Due to the shortage of water being received in the Yamuna, water production has fallen by around 70 MGD and many parts of Delhi are experiencing water shortages. In this situation, every drop of water becomes precious.”
The Water Minister further writes, “Delhi Jal Board has patrolling teams for our main water distribution network that carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and then from our WTPs to our main underground reservoirs in different parts of the city. In addition, we have deployed teams under the supervision of ADMs to support this work.”
“Yesterday our ground patrolling team reported a major leakage in our South Delhi Rising Mains, the main water pipeline that carries water from Sonia Vihar WTP) to South Delhi. This was near the DTL substation in Garhi Medhu. Our patrolling team found that several large 375 mm bolts and one 12-inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline causing the leakage. The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage,” the letter reads.
Minister Atishi mentions, “Our maintenance team worked for 6 hours continuously and repaired the leakage, but this meant that we had to stop pumping water for 6 hours and 20 MGD of water was not pumped during this time. As a consequence, a further 25% of water shortage will be experienced in South Delhi.”
“I am writing to request the deployment of police personnel to patrol and protect our major pipelines for the next 15 days. This would be very important for putting a stop to miscreants or people with ulterior motives from tampering with our water pipelines which have now become Delhi’s lifelines. At this juncture, any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi. I would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation,” the letter concludes.
Exposing the conspiracy, Delhi Water Minister Atishi shares on her ‘X’ handle (erstwhile Twitter), “Yesterday, the Delhi Jal Board patrolling team found a big leakage in the South Delhi Rising Main Pipeline near the Garhi Mendu transformer. On investigation, it was found that 5 bolts of 375mm and one bolt of 12 inches were cut by someone. It seems that a conspiracy is being hatched to increase the water problem in Delhi.”
“It took 6 hours for the Delhi Jal Board to repair this water pipeline. The repair work went on from 4 pm to 10 pm. During this time, the water supply to South Delhi had to be stopped. As a result, about 25% less water reached South Delhi today. Who are these people who are conspiring to spoil Delhi’s water supply?” The tweet further read.
