NEW DELHI: To dismiss recent allegations by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on the quality of water in the national capital, Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) vice-chairman Dinesh Mohaniya went around Delhi collecting water samples himself, to ensure that every household has access to clean drinking water.
The state government recently accused the BJP of running false propaganda through a fake survey by the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS).
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who heads the DJB was embroiled in a war of words with Union Minister Paswan over the past one week regarding the same. Both the leaders vouched for the report they had regarding water quality in the city.
Local AAP and BJP leaders too went at one another regarding the same. BJP workers held protests at different parts of the city and held a rally outside the DJB office.
The Delhi government hit back at Paswan for indulging in “fraudulence” in the water quality report. Kejriwal and his party alleged that this was done for “political gains” and to benefit RO water companies.
According to the Delhi government, after investigating the BIS report, eight out of the 11 samples shared by Paswan, were found to be fit for drinking.
DJB officials claimed that they were unable to collect samples from two locations and that only one sample had reduced levels of chlorine, which too technically was fit for drinking.
“Five samples from each ward of Delhi will be collected, totalling to around 3,000 samples from entire Delhi. They will be tested/ checked as per the established norms and SoPs,” said Mohaniya.