Delhi wants Centre to help get water supply

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New Delhi, May 31

Delhi’s Water Minister Atishi on Friday urged the Centre to facilitate the release of additional water from either Uttar Pradesh or Haryana to alleviate the national capital’s water crisis.

In a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Atishi highlighted the significant drop in water levels at the Wazirabad barrage due to Haryana not releasing the required amounts of water from the Yamuna.

Atishi said, “This has resulted in a massive water crisis in the national capital, especially as temperatures have soared to nearly 50°C, intensifying the demand for water and further straining the supply chain of potable water.”

During a visit to the Wazirabad barrage, she said the water level was 670.3 feet, significantly below the normal level (674.50 feet), which was severely impacting the production capacity of Delhi’s water treatment plants.

“I am writing this letter to bring to your notice the unprecedented water crisis that Delhi is facing. As you are aware, Delhi is heavily dependent on water from the Yamuna to meet its day-to-day demand,” Atishi wrote in her letter on May 30.

She warned that without adequate water release from Haryana, Delhi’s water treatment plants would not function optimally, leading to a failure in meeting the city’s demand-supply gap.

Atishi also said she had written to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini about the issue but was yet to receive a response. Emphasising the collective responsibility to ensure water availability in Delhi, she said, “It is our responsibility as a nation to ensure that the people of Delhi get the water they need.”

In her appeal to Shekhawat, she wrote, “I am writing to request you to ensure that some provision of water is made for NCT of Delhi, be it from Haryana or Uttar Pradesh or any other state that may be able to spare water, so that the people don’t suffer.”

Atishi also said that the Delhi government was making all possible efforts to encourage conservation of water. “A multi-departmental approach is being undertaken to ensure that there is no wastage. We have formed on-ground teams to take immediate action against those who are found wasting water. However, these standalone steps will not be sufficient to curtail water scarcity in the national capital,” she added.