Delhi Water Crisis: Atishi Urges Delhi Police To Patrol At Pipelines For 15 Days, AAP MLAs Seek Jal Shakti Minister's Help

Amid the worsening water crisis in Delhi, Water Minister Atishi on Sunday urged the Delhi Police Commissioner to deploy police personnel to patrol and protect major pipelines. In a letter to Commissioner Sanjay Arora, sought increased security around the pipelines in the national capital for the next 15 days.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said that due to a shortage of water being received in the Yamuna, water production has fallen by around 70 million gallons per day (MGD) and many parts of Delhi are experiencing water shortages.

Atishi’s Letter

“In this situation, every drop of water becomes precious. Delhi Jal Board (DJP) has patrolling teams for our main water distribution network that carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and then from our WTPs to our main underground reservoirs in different parts of the city. In addition, we have deployed teams under the supervision of ADMs to support in this work,” she said.

The Minister claimed the DJB teams found water supply pipelines were damaged in some places.

“Yesterday our ground patrolling team reported a major leakage in our South Delhi Rising Mains, the main water pipeline that carries water from Sonia Vihar WTP) to South Delhi. This was near the DTL substation in Garhi Medhu. Our patrolling team found that several large 375 mm bolts and one 12-inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline causing the leakage. The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage,” she said.

Atishi said the DJB team repaired the pipeline but due to the closure of the water supply for maintenance, a large quantity of water couldn’t be supplied to the people of Delhi, exacerbating the crisis.

“I am writing to request deployment of police personnel to patrol and protect our major pipelines for the next 15 days. This would be very important for putting a stop to miscreants or people with ulterior motives from tampering with our water pipelines which have now become Delhi’s lifelines. At this juncture any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi,” she added.

AAP Leader At Jal Shakti Minister’s House

AAP MLAs today also reached the house of union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil to request him to resolve the matter.

“We came here to meet Minister CR Patil to find a solution for the issue of water crisis in Delhi. We got to know that he is not here and we will not be able to meet him today. If the Jal Shakti Minister does interstate coordination, the issue of water shortage will be reduced,” said AAP MLA Dilip Pandey.

BJP, Cong Hold ‘Matka Phod’ Protests

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday organised a ‘matka-phod’ protest against the AAP government over the water shortage in Delhi. BJP MP from New Delhi Bansuri Swaraj took part in the protest along with other senior party leaders.

“This is not a natural problem, it has been created by the AAP. Delhi has sufficient water, and Haryana is releasing more water than agreed upon. In just 10 years, AAP has taken Delhi Jal Board from a profit of Rs 600 crores in 2013 to a loss of Rs 73000 crores in 2024,” Swaraj said.

Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva, who also took part in the agitation said, “If there is anyone responsible for the water shortage in Delhi, it is CM Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP government… The water shortage in Delhi is not natural. Delhi has requisite water reserves and Haryana is giving water in quantities more than it is bound to… Water theft and wastage is the basic reason why Delhi is short of water.”

On the other hand, the Delhi Congress, under the leadership of its chief Devender Yadav, held ‘matka phod’ protests across the city on Saturday with its members smashing earthen pots to the ground.

Carrying earthen pots on their heads and Congress flags, the protesters raised slogans against the Delhi government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Later, they threw the pots on the ground.

Yadav, who also joined the protests, demanded a special session of the assembly to discuss the issue. The protesters, carrying placards and banners, shouted anti-government slogans.

Yadav said that the Delhi Congress has been taking up the water scarcity issue for the past 20 to 25 days.

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments have been neglecting the plight of the people and are busy blaming each other for water scarcity, he alleged.

Yadav claimed that while the Congress has been taking up issues that are affecting the people of Delhi, such as water crisis and frequent power breakdowns, the Delhi government was not doing anything to address these issues.

Delhi BJP Claims Collusion by AAP Leaders in Illegal Water Connections

Meanwhile, Delhi unit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday accused the AAP leaders including its MLAs and ministers of hatching a conspiracy to ‘fill their coffers’ while the common people continue to suffer.

Sachdeva, citing the case of Buddha Vihar in Delhi’s Inder Puri area, claimed that the AAP leaders colluded with the officials in giving illegal water connections to local residents.

“At least Rs 35,000 was charged from each resident for granting illegal water connection. No paper work was done, no water meters were installed. And, this water connection was later attached to Delhi Jal Board pipeline,” he alleged, and also questioned the motive behind such a step.

The Delhi BJP chief claimed that it is not the handiwork of some rogue elements but has been made possible because of a ‘whole machinery working with political patronage’.

Further targeting Delhi Water Minister Atishi, he questioned: “If those illegal connections are still running, why were they not legalised?”

“The answer is that they want this illegal money to go into their pockets and not to the government exchequer,” he added.