Delhi is currently grappling with a severe water crisis due to the extreme summer heat, with temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius in some areas of the national capital.
In areas like Chanakyapuri, which comes under the New Delhi Assembly constituency, people were seen lining up to fill water, carrying pipes, and even jumping on top of water tankers to get their buckets filled with water.
Water crisis at Chanakyapuri's Vivekanand Camp.
(Photo: PTI)
However, the Delhi government said that it has been taking various steps to control the situation. For example, the AAP government on Wednesday, 29 May, said that it will impose a Rs 2,000 fine on water wastage and has reportedly formed 200 teams to enforce the penalty.
Other government measures include implementing double-shift tubewell operations and deploying water tankers to the affected areas.
Amid the water shortage, the Delhi government filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Friday, 31 May, seeking additional water supply from the neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
The plea seeks to direct these states to release extra water for a month in order to help address the city's excessive water demand amid the rising mercury.
However, on Tuesday, 28 May, Delhi Water Minister Atishi accused Haryana of not releasing its share of water since 1 May. Sharing the data, Atishi mentioned that Wazirabad's average water-level should be maintained at 674.5 feet but it has come down to 669.8 feet.
Furthermore, Atishi said that she has penned a letter to Union Water Minister Gajendra Shekhawat regarding the water crisis in Delhi.
In her letter to the Union minister, Atishi said, "Delhi is heavily dependent on water from the Yamuna River to meet its day-to-day demand for water. However, in the last few days, there has been a drastic dip in the water levels at the Wazirabad Barrage as Haryana is not releasing the required amount of water into the Yamuna River. This has resulted in a massive water crisis in the national capital."
She also mentioned that the temperature in Delhi has reached nearly 50 degrees, increasing the demand for water and putting additional strain on the already strained supply of potable drinking water.
On the other hand, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva blamed the AAP government for the water crisis in Delhi, claiming that Haryana had supplied 1,049 cusecs of Yamuna water exceeding the agreed-upon amount.
(With IANS and PTI inputs.)
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