Why Delhi is staring at a water crisis
NEW DELHI: Water wars have begun at
Delhi Jal Board
headquarters, Varunalaya, at Jhandewalan. On Friday, its gates were locked after several protesting groups reached there demanding water in their parched areas. The status quo deadline of May 21 is approaching, but resolution of the dispute between Delhi and Haryana seems nowhere in sight. The city has already witnessed three deaths due to fights over water this year.
“We have moved Upper Yamuna River Board, but no decisions have been made yet. The situation is not improving. We are trying to ration water supply to ensure that only the poor don’t suffer,” said Dinesh Mohania,
DJB
vice-chairman, hinting at water scarcity hitting VIP areas, Lutyens’ zone and embassies.
Currently, the city is getting 851 million gallons per day (MGD) against the normal peak summer supply of 916 MGD. With pond levels at Wazirabad, which receives raw water from Yamuna, dipping to 671 feet against the normal of 674.5ft, the worry expressed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal of VIP areas facing disruption in supply may soon become a reality.
Besides tubewells, the capital gets its drinking water supply from Ganga, Bhakhra and Yamuna. “We get water from Haryana through three routes — Yamuna, carrier-lined channel (CLC) and Delhi sub-branch (
) canals. Yamuna contributes 375MGD to the total installed capacity of 916MGD. Of this, around 95MGD is diverted to Chandrawal water treatment plant (WTP) and 123MGD to Wazirabad. Haiderpur meets its 210MGD capacity from both Yamuna and Bhakhra,” a senior DJB official said.
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