Will Delhi water crisis ease today? All eyes on Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi faces shortage of water every summer and engages in a tussle with Haryana.

New Delhi: In a bid to assuage the anger of Delhiites grappling with the water crisis, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Wednesday promised that supply of water in the national capital will normalise by Thursday.

Kejriwal had yesterday said that neighbouring Haryana has commenced releasing water for Delhi.

"Haryana has started releasing water. Production likely to be normal by tommorow (Thursday) morning and distribution by tomorrow (Thursday) evening. We are constantly monitoring the situation," Kejriwal tweeted on Wednesday.

Delhi Jal Board CEO Keshav Chandra expressed hope that production at the treatment plants -- Wazirabad and Chandrawal -- will "stabilise" by Thursday and supply will gradually improve.

Water supply in the national capital was hit after Haryana on Monday evening reduced water supply to the city.

Two water treatment plants -- Wazirabad and Chandrawal which treat around 220 MGD (million gallons per day) out of the 900 MGD treated in Delhi -- were down to 60 percent of their capacity as the city was receiving around 80 MGD (million gallons per day) less than its share.

Under the circumstances, certain areas that come under the distribution network of these plants remained affected through the day.

Out of the 900 MGD, around 550 (almost 60 percent) comes from Haryana and the rest from Uttar Pradesh.

The Lutyens' Bungalow Zone, which comes under the New Delhi Municipal Council, and houses the PMO, the Rashtrapati Bhavan and residences of several Union ministers, judges, Army officers, and bureaucrats, among others, was affected by the shortage.

On Tuesday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government asked Delhi's Lt Governor Anil Baijal to request Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to intervene on the water-release issue.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Wednesday wrote to Lt Governor Anil Baijal over water shortage in parts of the city and demanded a meeting with the Delhi Jal Board.

In the letter, he also targetted Kejriwal, saying the AAP leader was too busy in "power games" to pay attention to draw up a summer plan of power and water supply in the city.

The national capital faces shortage of water every summer and engages in a tussle with Haryana.

(With Agency inputs)