New Delhi: The Vice Chairman of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Raghav Chadha on Monday raised the issue of water crisis prevalent in the city. He alleged that the Haryana government is withholding Delhi's rightful share of water.
Chadha took to Twitter to raise his voice, he tweeted, “Raw water discharge through Yamuna by Haryana is at an all time low. Even 1Ft decline can cause havoc in the city but currently the pond level has fallen from 674.5 Ft to 667 Ft. Delhi’s legitimate share is withheld by Haryana government. Please see pics below to get a glimpse of the huge decline.”
The VC of DJB also visited the Wazirabad pond to inspect the water level situation as Delhi faced the water crisis. He said that the water levels at Wazirabad Barrage had not been so low since 1965.
“Haryana has withheld at least 120 MGD water that belongs to Delhi, at present. This has caused a huge water crisis in Delhi. Delhi is a landlocked city. We rely on our neighbouring states for water supply. UP supplies us a share of Ganga water, Haryana that of Yamuna water, we get some from Punjab through Bhakra Nangal. The biggest share out of this is supposed to be supplied by Haryana. Today the Haryana government has impeded the rights of the people of Delhi. Even if the water level in the Yamuna goes down by 1 feet, it causes havoc in Delhi. Today, the water levels of Yamuna have gone down by 7.5 feet,” he said.
Chadha reiterated the present arrangement of water sharing which was ordered by the Supreme Court in 1995. The DJB has also moved to the Supreme Court against Haryana Government seeking the due supply of Delhi's legitimate share as determined by the court.
“With folded hands, I plead with the Haryana government and Haryana CM ML Khattar, please give the citizens of Delhi, their rightful share of water. Don’t hinder Delhi of its rights. The Supreme Court had ordered you to supply this water on legal grounds. You have to supply it on humanitarian grounds as well,” he added.
Chadha also shared that the water treatment plants are operating at reduced capacity. He said that Chandrawal WTP is operating at 55 MGD capacity against capacity of 90 MGD, Wazirabad WTP at 80 MGD against 135 MGD and Okhla WTP at 12 MGD against 20 MGD.
