New Delhi: The National Capital of India is facing an acute water shortage amidst severe heatwave, according to officials on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
The temperatures rose to 47 degrees Celsius in the Mungeshpur and Najafgarh regions of Delhi on Saturday. According to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the river Yamuna is drying and leading to a drop in the Wazirabad pond from 667 feet on July 11, 2021, to 670.70 feet this year.
The DJB failed to receive any help from the unresponsive Haryana State government despite writing several SOS messages to the authorities. The DJB wrote to the Haryana Irrigation Department on April 30, May 03, and May 12, 2022.
The Board also moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to Haryana regarding the release of additional water in River Yamuna.
An SOS sent on Thursday read, “Even flow via CLC (Carrier-Lined Channel) and DSB (Delhi Sub-Branch) is fluctuating… The lifting of 120 cusec of water from the Wazirabad pond is affected due to low pond level. This will affect water production adversely. Due to peak summer, the water requirement is more.”
“It is requested to supply 150 cusec of raw water additionally through DD-8/river route, so as to ensure that 120 cusec of raw water reaches the Wazirabad pond in this time of crisis, till the arrival of monsoon,” it added.
Meanwhile, the production capacity at Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla water treatment plants reduced to 85 percent. The Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants have a capacity of 90 MGD and 135 MGD, respectively.
“We have resorted to water rationing and have been able to meet the demand so far. However, the situation could turn worse if Haryana does not respond and release additional water in the river,” an official said.
The DJB supplies around 950 MGD out of the required capacity of around 1,200 MGD of water. The DJB also deployed extra tankers in the affected areas and is trying to augment water supply through tube wells as part of their Summer Action Plan.
The National Capital receives 253 MGD from the Upper Ganga Canal from Uttar Pradesh, whereas Haryana supplies 610 million gallons of water every day through River Yamuna, the CLC, and DSB canals.
(Avya Mathur)