As Delhi faces a water shortage in several areas, the Delhi Government has scheduled an emergency meeting on Thursday at the Delhi Secretariat to tackle the issue. The meeting will be led by Water Minister Atishi and Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, with the Chief Secretary and other senior officials in attendance.
This decision follows reports of severe water crises from various parts of the city, where residents have been waiting for hours for water tankers. Residents of Geeta Colony in East Delhi have expressed concerns about the inadequate water supply from the government, stating they only receive half of what is needed.
Vinay, a resident of Geeta Colony, shared with ANI, “We are facing a severe water crisis. Our locality has a population of around 3,000-4,000 people, but the government sends only half the required number of tankers.” He added, “Although a tanker comes daily, but in this scorching heat, the demand for water has significantly increased. Sometimes, they reduce the amount of water in the tanker, due to which we suffer a lot. While in the absence of tankers, the wealthier residents can buy water, but the poorer ones cannot, due to which they have to drink dirty water, which leads to illness.”
Vinay also mentioned, “We have complained to the MLA of the area multiple times, but we have never received a valid response. No one is listening to us.” An elderly resident noted, “I usually come after 10-15 days, sometimes even a month, but as always, I don’t get water.” Another resident, Shabru Khatun, stated, “There are a lot of problems regarding water in this area. We get only one tanker for the entire area. The tanker water is used for drinking and cooking purposes. Sometimes, we don’t even get the tanker, and we are forced to buy bottled water.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Minister Atishi accused the Haryana government of not releasing Delhi’s water share despite “so many talks.” She warned that if the water supply does not improve in the next 1-2 days, they will consider moving to the Supreme Court.
Atishi also urged people to use water judiciously, warning that the government might have to rationalize the water supply in the national capital. She emphasized that fines for excessive water use could be imposed if people do not heed the appeal.
Discussing measures to address the water shortage, Atishi stated, “In the last one week, there has been a water crisis in many areas of Delhi… We have taken various steps but because the water level is decreasing constantly, we have to take more steps. The areas which get a water supply for two times will be reduced to once… We are in an adverse condition where Delhi’s water supply is being halted by Haryana.”
