Delhi Water Minister Atishi on Sunday accused the BJP of vandalising a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) office, and said some people “intentionally” damaged a pipeline to disrupt water supply to parts of south Delhi.
Though Ms. Atishi did not specify who damaged the main pipeline supplying water to south Delhi from Sonia Vihar, she told reporters that people associated with the BJP had taken photos of it, and asked if they had any role in it.
The BJP trashed the charges while saying that the incident at the DJB office in south Delhi was the result of people’s restlessness over the water crisis.
Delhi BJP vice-president Yogita Singh said people of Chhatarpur grew restless during a protest and threw an earthen pot, resulting in the breaking of a glass door.
Both parties sparred over the issue as the BJP held “matka phod” protests in the city, with its workers smashing earthen pots to the ground.
While the BJP has been blaming AAP leaders’ “connivance with the tanker mafia” for the crisis, Ms. Atishi has repeatedly accused BJP-ruled Haryana of not releasing the city’s share of water in the Yamuna river through the Munak canal.
The Delhi government had on Saturday urged Haryana to release water on “humanitarian grounds”, with the Minister claiming that the water production at the city treatment plants has dipped drastically.
Ms. Atishi told reporters that the Capital is being kept parched under a BJP conspiracy. “The first part of it was reducing Delhi’s water through its government in Haryana,” she said.
“…and then, the BJP sent its goons to the DJB office to create a ruckus,” she said, alleging that the attack was led by former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who junked the charge, saying it has been Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) plan to blame the BJP when it fails to ensure basic needs to people.
The Minister said DJB officials will file a police complaint in connection with the vandalism incident. “Will the Delhi Police register an FIR? Will the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor take action?” she asked.
Ms. Atishi also wrote to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, requesting the deployment of security personnel to protect major water pipelines for the next 15 days.
‘MLAs evading people’
Reacting to it, Delhi BJP vice-president and Kalkaji councillor Yogita Singh said it’s shameful that Ms. Atishi is labelling people protesting against the water shortage as “goons”.
“The BJP does not approve of any kind of violence but whatever happened today was not a case of violence. Entire south Delhi has been parched for days now. Be it local AAP MLAs or DJB employees, everyone is evading people,” she said.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva too said that the water shortage is not due to natural causes but is the result of the mismanagement and negligence of the ruling AAP.
Published - June 17, 2024 01:31 am IST
