NEW DELHI: Accusing the Haryana government of withholding Delhi’s legitimate share of Yamuna waters, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice-Chairman and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on Monday said the river’s level at Wazirabad barrage was at its lowest point in 56 years. After reviewing the situation at the Wazirabad pond, Chadha said Haryana had not been releasing at least 120 million gallons per day (MGD) water which had led to a water crisis in the national capital.
“The Yamuna has dried up...so much that it can be used as a cricket or hockey field. The water levels at the Wazirabad barrage have not been so low since 1965,” Chadha said. The water treatment plants in Delhi are operating at 40-50 per cent reduced capacity due to less discharge of raw water, he added.“Delhi is a landlocked city and relies on neighbouring states for water supply. Uttar Pradesh supplies to us a share of the Ganga water, Haryana of the Yamuna water, we get some from Punjab through (the) Bhakra Nangal (dam). The biggest share of this is supposed to be supplied by Haryana,” he added.
The AAP leader saidthe water level in the Yamuna has gone down by 7.5 feet as Haryana has withheld Delhi’s share of water. “The Supreme Court had ordered you to supply this water on legal grounds. You have to supply it on humanitarian grounds as well,” the DJB chief said.The DJB has been supplying 945 MGD of water to city residents this summer against the demand of 1,150 MGD. At present, Delhi is receiving 479 MGD water as against 609 MGD from Haryana.
Responding to the allegations, Haryana’s home minister Anil Vij alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had “done a Ph.D in speaking lies”. Haryana was continuously providing 1,049 cusecs water at Munak through its canal system to Delhi, Vij claimed.