Chadha blames Hry for water supply shortage

New Delhi: Delhi Jal Board (DJB) vice chairman Raghav Chadha on Sunday said the national Capital was reeling under water shortage as "Haryana has reduced the supply of raw water to the city".

He requested Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to intervene and direct the Haryana government to release Delhi's share of raw water.

Haryana has reduced the supply of raw water to Delhi, as a result we are facing a shortage in water production. Currently, Haryana through Carrier Lined Channel (CLC) canal is supplying only 549.16 cusecs (against 683 cusecs) and Delhi Sub-Branch canal is supplying 306.63 cusecs (against 330 cusecs), Chadha tweeted.

The treatment capacity at Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants has dipped by 30 per cent. The same has reduced by 15 per cent at Okhla WTP, he said.

Further, Haryana Govt's lackadaisical attitude has led to unchecked dumping of sewage into Yamuna. Samples picked up by our Quality Lab show high contamination/Ammonia, Chadha claimed in another tweet. According to officials, the DJB's water treatment plants can treat up to 0.9 parts per million ammonia concentration in the river water. If the ammonia content is higher than this, the raw water is diluted with fresh water from the Upper Ganga Canal or the Munak Canal.

If enough fresh water for dilution is not available, the production capacity of plants is reduced or they are temporarily shut.