New Video of Delhi's Struggle as Water Crisis Sees No End | Steps to Stop Wastage

Fresh visuals of Delhi residents queueing up to collect water from tankers emerged on Monday morning amid the continued water crisis in the capital. Delhi is facing a shortage due to unprecedented summer heat, with temperatures hovering around the 50 degree-Celsius mark in parts of the city.

Earlier visuals showed people across areas scrambling with empty buckets to water tankers, some were even seen jumping the queue to get to the top of tankers to fill their vessel.

Amid the shortage, the Supreme Court will on Monday hear Delhi’s government’s plea for more water supply. The AAP government had reached out to the Centre and the apex court seeking additional water supply from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh for a month.

In its petition in Supreme Court, Delhi said that the need for water has increased in the national capital amid sweltering heat. “Delhi’s need for water has increased in the scorching heat. It is everyone’s responsibility to fulfill the needs of the country’s capital,” the petition said.

Politics Over Water Crisis

Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party has been alleging that the neighbouring states, especially Haryana, has not been releasing enough water to the capital.

Delhi minister Atishi wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini requesting them to release additional water to the national capital for a month.

Atishi stressed that Delhi is grappling with an unprecedented water crisis this year, with the demand for water surging significantly compared to previous years amid a heatwave.

“With temperature touching almost 50 degrees Celsius, Delhi is stretched out to the maximum as far as its water resources are concerned. To tackle the existing crisis, we urgently need Haryana to release additional water into the Yamuna River at the earliest,” she wrote in her letter to the Haryana CM on May 31.

In her letter to the UP CM, Atishi, who has the water portfolio, stressed the severity of the heatwave and the need for assistance from all quarters.

“Sir, through this letter I wish to appeal to you to kindly consider our request and provide additional water to Delhi for the next one month so that people living in Delhi can comfortably surpass this peak summer. The Delhi government and people living in the national capital will be anxiously waiting for a positive response,” the letter read.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva accused Atishi of “playing politics in the name of water crisis”.

He said that there is no shortage of raw water in Delhi as both Haryana and Uttarakhand are giving excess water on a daily basis and it can be verified from the Delhi Jal Board record.

He called upon Atishi to stop writing “politically motivated letters” to CMs of BJP-rule Haryana and UP and instead work to clean silt from water ponds and plants, along with stopping water wastage and theft to end the water crisis in Delhi.

Measures Taken to Battle Delhi Water Crisis

• The Delhi government on May 29 directed the Delhi Jal Board to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 for water wastage.

• The fine will be imposed for using hoses to wash cars, overflowing water tanks and use of domestic water for construction and commercial purposes. Water supply in those areas where it was supplied twice a day has been reduced to once a day.

• The Delhi government has also taken measures like running tube wells in double shifts and using water tankers to supply water in affected areas due to the shortage. A complete ban on the use of potable water at construction sites, whether it comes from tankers, pipelines or borewells was issued.

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