Atishi requests police protection for water pipelines for 15 days
In light of the severe water crisis in Delhi, Water Minister Atishi has written to the city's police commissioner, Sanjay Arora, requesting protection for the city's pipelines against potential sabotage. In her letter, she asked for police personnel to patrol and protect major pipelines for 15 days to prevent tampering. She claimed that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB)'s patrolling team had found signs of pipeline sabotage at several locations.
Sabotage suspected in Delhi's water pipeline damage
Atishi reported that DJB teams found water supply pipelines damaged at various places. She detailed an incident where a major leakage was discovered in the South Delhi Rising Mains, the main pipeline carrying water from Sonia Vihar WTP to South Delhi. "Our patrolling team found...several large 375mm bolts and one 12 inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline causing the leakage. The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage," she wrote.
Read the letter here
BJP protests against AAP government over water crisis
AAP MLAs have also requested help from Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to resolve the issue. Separately, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and other party members held a protest in Najafgarh against the AAP government over the raging water crisis. Sehrawat stated, "The pipes that I inspected today are broken and a lot of water is being wasted...The Delhi government is blaming other state governments for the water shortage whereas the problem lies within their department."
Delhi water production decreases amid crisis
On Saturday, Atishi appealed to Haryana government to release additional water into the Yamuna on humanitarian grounds, citing a shortage of 70 million gallons per day (MGD). She noted that normal water production in Delhi had decreased from around 1,002 MGD on June 6 to 932 MGD due to this shortage. Currently, DJB tankers make approximately 10,000 trips to water-scarce areas, supplying 10 MGD of water every day.
