Jats cut water supply from Ganga canal to Delhi

Ghaziabad/New Delhi: Protesting the denial of reservations in recruitment for central services, members of the Jat community Sunday stopped the water supply to Delhi from the Upper Ganga canal. The Delhi government said talks were on to resolve the issue and there was no need to panic.

"Angered over not being granted reservation in central services, the community leaders decided to stop water supply to Delhi from the Upper Ganga canal in Muradnagar town of Ghaziabad," said Satya Pal Chaudhary, one of the 10,000-strong crowd of volunteers.

The Upper Ganga Canal is one of the sources for water for Delhi, which also draws on the Yamuna river, the Bhakra Nangal dam on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh (through the West Yamuna canal) and underground reservoirs and wells.

Earlier, leaders of the Jat Arakshhan Sangharsh Samiti (Reservation Struggle Committee) organised a public meeting at Muradnagar in which a resolution was presented to stop the water supplies.

After it was passed, the leaders proceeded towards the treatment plant at Abupur and downed the shutters from where the water was being sent to the treatment plant prior to being pumped to Sonia Vihar in Delhi.

"Our long standing demand for the grant reservation in central services to our backward community had been ignored by the central government. Therefore we have adopted this method to awaken the sleeping government," the committee's president Yash Pal Singh Malik said.

Ghaziabad District Magistrate R. Ramesh Kumar apprised the Union cabinet secretary and the Delhi chief secretary of the development.

"I have apprised the cabinet secretary and the chief secretary of Delhi. To keep peace, civil police and PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) have been deployed," he said.

The Delhi government said the issue would be resolved soon.

"We are having a meeting with the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary and the district magistrate of the area. There is nothing to panic about. The issue will be resolved very soon," Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said.