Delhi flood is turning political with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders blaming it on the high discharge of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana while the Centre is countering the same saying the barrage has its own capacity to stop water and it is not a dam.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday conceded that there is no reservoir where water can be stored upstream and hence water has to be released. “It seems by today evening, water may start reducing,” the CM said.
Yamuna water has entered Delhi’s Ring Road between ITO and ISBT Kashmiri Gate and inundated many other low-lying areas of the national capital with Yamuna water levels crossing a record 208.5 meters, though there was no rain in Delhi this week.
The Delhi CM is citing his letter to home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday in which he said water must be released at “slow pace” from Hathnikund barrage as there was otherwise a threat to Delhi. Kejriwal also blamed the “abnormally high volumes of water” being released in Haryana at Hathnikund barrage for the flood in Delhi and has urged the Centre to intervene.
The Centre is, however, hitting back with Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat pointing out that the Hathnikund barrage is not a dam and hence has limited capacity to stop the water flow, and the Centre is making use of it. The discharge from the barrage has increased in last two days, particularly on Thursday from 1.56 lakh cusecs at midnight to 1.63 lakh cusecs by 9 am.
The Central Water Commission, which falls under Shekhawat’s ministry, has also pointed out that the Hathnikund barrage has “limited storage” and excess water has to be released downstream during high inflows caused by heavy rainfall in the upstream areas. The Commission has, however, said the peak flow will reach its maximum by 10 am today and would start receding today by 2 pm.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Kattar has also attacked the Delhi CM saying the latter was not speaking the truth to the people. Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya held Kejriwal government responsible for flood in Delhi. saying no dredging had been done in the Yamuna ever since Kejriwal took over as CM and claimed that the sewer lines had not been desilted in the last eight years.
Another BJP leader, Kapil Mishra, hit out at AAP’s tactics of blaming the Centre, saying closing the Hathnikund Barrage could mean extreme flooding in Punjab and Haryana and deaths there.
Another senior BJP leader also pointed out to News18 that there was little option with the Centre but to discharge water from Hathnikund barrage as there had been heavy rains in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
“In fact, the Delhi government should have been better prepared on front of evacuations, knowing this was (water discharge) was an inevitability,” the BJP leader said. AAP is, however, pointing out how its leaders and MLAs have been on the ground since the last two days and have been evacuating people and animals from the low-lying areas.
The Delhi CM himself has been holding reviews.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir tweeted “Wake up Delhiites. Delhi has become a gutter. Nothing is for free, this is the price.” The Delhi flood is adding another chapter to the AAP-BJP fight in Delhi.
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