AP SUMMER WOES: Cans lined up by the
roadside in the Capital on Friday by people waiting for government tankers to
bring drinking water
Situation all set to worsen unless Haryana
releases water immediately: Jal Board
On Friday the Delhi Jal Board sent out
a warning. Its officials said if Haryana does not release Delhi's full quantum
of water by evening, the city's water supply will be worse than ever. As on
date, the DJB says its water production has been reduced by 45 million gallons
a day and the pond level has fallen by over a foot at Wazirabad, which is also
in contravention of the Supreme Court orders.
The Jal Board Chairperson, Chief
Minister Sheila Dikshit, is also understood to have sought the help of law
enforcement agencies to maintain law and order in the city that has been in the
grip of a water crisis. “In some areas where water supply has been severely
affected, tempers have begun to flare. In some areas protests spill onto the
streets, resulting in a law and order situation,” said an official.
Since May 30, the date from when the
DJB alleges Haryana began arbitrarily curtailing the water supply, the water
utility has petitioned Haryana to release its full supply of water, sought the
intervention of the Prime Minister's Office, gone knocking to the Upper Yamuna
River Board (under the Union Water Resources Ministry), scheduled a meeting of
the Chief Ministers of both States, where a letter was handed over to Haryana and
discussed the issue at the meeting of the two state Chief Secretaries.
The result, the DJB says has been
“disappointing, with no change in the situation.”
“We have exhausted all avenues of
communication; the only option left for us is to finally approach the Supreme
Court, because there is an order which specifies that Haryana has to release
enough water as is necessary for maintaining the pond level at 674.5 feet,”
said a senior official.
Asked why Delhi waited so long, given
the frequent recurrence of the problem, the official said: “Seeking the court's
intervention is the last resort. We were hopeful that Haryana would listen to
our requests and release our rightful share of water.”
To mitigate the impact of reduced
water production at Wazirabad, DJB on Friday began rotational supply of water.
“We cannot allow only a few areas to face a water crisis. We have begun
curtailing supply in those areas that were getting water supply without any
glitches. We will rationalise the water supply till things normalise,” the
official said.
DJB officials said if the production
at the water treatment plants is increased, the pond levels will fall further.
“In the past two days the pond levels have not improved, they have remained
static only because we have not lifted water for production. One unit of
Wazirabad had to be shut down because the water levels are so critical,” the
official explained.
Water production at Haiderpur water
treatment plant is already down by 15 MGD, affecting a large consumer base in
North, West and South-West Delhi.
No comments:
Post a Comment