NEW DELHI: The Delhi government today said it is expecting to restore by late evening 25 per cent of water supply in the city which was disrupted due to the Jat stir even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Centre and the army for securing of Munak canal.
"Thank u army, thank u centre for securing munak canal back. Great relief for delhi," Kejriwal said in a tweet. Kejriwal had said this morning that water was completely used up in Delhi and appelaed to the Centre to intervene immediately and get the supply restored from the canal.
After an emergency meeting held at Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's residence to assess the situation, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra said that 400 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water was released from Munak subcanal, adding that 25 per cent water supply in Delhi is expected to be restored by late evening. "About 400 cusecs of water has been released from the Kuchha sub-branch of Munak out of which nearly 300 cusecs will reach Delhi in 6-7 hours. A team of DJB is on standy and as soon as it reaches Haidarpur treatment plant, supply will be started," he said.
"We hope that by late evening we will be able to restore 25 per cent water supply in Delhi," he said. The canal has a 'pucca' and a 'kuchha' system. The gates of pucca canal are still closed and these have been damaged by the agitators at many points. A special team of DJB has been sent to assess the damage and time required to repair it, the minister said.
The water released through kuchha sub-branch will reach Delhi by late evening helping in partial restoration of water supply, he said. "Partial supply of water will be restored but it will take 7-10 more days in repairing Munak canal and till then scarcity of water will exist forcing its supply in limited quantity," Mishra said.
He also said that Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants affected due to high levels of ammonia in Yamuna water were also likely to be started today.
"Wazirabad and Chandrawal plants are also being watched for ammonia level. Both plants are likely to be started today," he said. The minister said that the crisis has lessened but it is yet to end as repair of the canal will take time and water will be needed to be used judiciously by the people for 7-10 days more.
The Delhi government is also prepared to extended its resources and technical know-how required for repair of the Munak canal to its Haryana counterparts, Mishra said. "We have told the Haryana government that the Delhi government is prepared to provide resources and technical assitance to repair the canal," he said.
A four-member team of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) engineers has been dispatched for engineering assessment at Munak canal and it will give its report in a few hours, he said.