Water received from Haryana ‘extremely poisonous’ for human health, Kejriwal tells EC
AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Election Commission that his remarks accusing the Haryana government of poisoning the Yamuna river were made in the context of an urgent and alarming public health crisis concerning the deteriorating quality of drinking water in Delhi.
"The fact remains that Delhi depends on raw water supplies from Haryana for potable water. The statements were made in furtherance of an imperative public duty to highlight the severe toxicity and contamination of raw water received from Haryana, which presents an imminent and direct threat to public health," Kejriwal said in his reply.
The former CM cited a letter of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO, which revealed that the Yamuna water contained 7 ppm of ammonia -- 700% above the permissible limit -- posing a severe public health risk.
According to Kejriwal, the DJB CEO's letter highlighted the persistent and alarming increase in the ammonia in the raw water being supplied to Delhi.
The AAP convener, in his reply, identified Haryana’s “indiscriminate discharge of industrial waste” as the root cause, warning that continued supply of such toxic water could lead to grave health hazards and fatalities.
Kejriwal asserted that raising the critical issue could not be considered an offence. He also pointed out that due to the extreme toxicity of raw water from Haryana, Delhi’s water treatment plants were operating below capacity, leading to a shortage of treated water in the capital.
He said the statement made by him “by no stretch of the imagination can be termed as inciting enmity between different groups or prejudicial to national integration”.
