Haryana govt. reducing water flow to Capital, says Atishi; AAP diverting from real issues: Saini

Delhi Water Minister Atishi said the “new conspiracy” by the BJP was designed to tarnish the reputation of the AAP government in Delhi. | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

Alleging a “new conspiracy” by the BJP to target AAP, Delhi Water Minister Atishi on Wednesday said the Haryana government had stopped the flow of Yamuna water to the Capital days before voting in the Lok Sabha election to create an “artificial water crisis”. She added that she had written a letter to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini requesting “immediate intervention” in the same.

However, Mr. Saini refuted the charges, dubbing the AAP leader’s claims a “lie”.

“Since May 11, Haryana has reduced the water flow, causing the Yamuna’s levels to drop to 670.9 feet from the required 674 feet,” said Ms. Atishi, adding that “perhaps it was the first time in Delhi’s history” that the river’s water levels had dropped so low.

“These figures make it clear that before voting on May 25, the BJP is hatching a new conspiracy by stopping the water supply to trouble the people of Delhi, and to blame AAP and [Chief Minister] Arvind Kejriwal,” she said.

“Within five days of the announcement of the general election, Arvind Kejriwal was arrested so that AAP could not campaign. After he came out on interim bail, they used the party’s Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal to frame him, but even that plan did not work. Then they raked up the old issue of foreign funding. This is their new tactic,” Ms. Atishi said.

Cautioning the people of Delhi that “such conspiracies” will be pushed by the BJP in the coming few days to distract voters, the AAP leader said that Delhi Jal Board was ramping up water tanker supplies to ensure that no inconvenience was caused to the public.

However, the DJB clarified in a statement that the Yamuna’s levels depend on several factors like temperature and precipitation, and that it was “fully geared up” to meet the city’s water demand and  handle any unforeseen situation.

“These fluctuations are standard in nature, particularly in summer months,” it said, adding that according to data, water levels in May this year were better than levels measured in May 2021 and 2022.

‘No issues to raise’

Responding to the Minister’s allegations, the Haryana Chief Minister claimed that AAP “wants to divert people’s attention because they have no issues to raise”.

“Water supply [to Delhi] is continuing as per the agreement and nobody can stop it,” Mr. Saini told reporters in Karnal, adding Mr. Kejriwal “did not fulfil the promises he made to the people of Delhi”.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that AAP “had come out with a new lie” fearing defeat in the general election, and was solely responsible for the water shortage in the Capital.

“BJP raised the issue of the water supply crisis on Monday, but the Minister did not utter a word then and is now blaming the BJP. The corruption and inaction of the AAP government is responsible for the water shortage in Delhi,” he said.

‘Met power demands’

The AAP leader said the Delhi government had successfully met the peak power demand of over 7,000 megawatts on May 21 without any power cuts. “Despite peak demand, we are providing 24-hour electricity. There is no load shedding and no blackouts,” she said.

She added that under President’s Rule in 2014, the Capital had witnessed long power cuts.

“I would like to recall that in 2014 when Delhi was reeling under a heatwave, the peak power demand had reached 5,925 MW. At that time, there were six to eight-hour-long blackouts,” she said.

She added that in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, several housing societies in Greater Noida were reporting hours-long power outages.

“There were eight-hour-long power cuts in many sectors of Noida. In many areas of Ghaziabad, there were six-hour-long power cuts on May 21 and May 22,” she said.

(With PTI inputs)