CM inspects Wazirabad WTP after flooding forces three WTPs to be temporarily shut

The national Capital is staring at a drinking water shortage as the Delhi government decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants due to the rising level of the Yamuna.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with “acute shortage”.

“Due to an increase in the Yamuna water level, many water treatment plants had to be closed. I visited the Wazirabad plant on the banks of the Yamuna. We will start it as soon as the situation turns to normalcy,” he tweeted.

In an earlier tweet, Kejriwal announced the closure of the Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants due to the rising Yamuna level.

“The water treatment plants at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla are being shut due to the rising Yamuna water level.

“Due to this, there will be a problem of water supply in some areas. These plants will start functioning as soon as the Yamuna water recedes,” he earlier said in a tweet in Hindi.

The chief minister said the water supply may be affected in parts of the city by the shutting down of treatment plants.

Meanwhile, Delhi Metro trains are crossing the four Yamuna bridges with a restricted speed of 30 kmph as a precautionary measure due to rising water level of the Yamuna.

“Due to rising water levels of the Yamuna, trains are passing through all the four Metro bridges on the river with a restricted speed of 30 kmph as a precautionary measure. Normal services on all corridors,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tweeted.

Entry and exit of passengers at the Yamuna Bank Metro Station on the Blue Line has been temporarily closed due

to the rising water levels of the Yamuna river, officials said on Thursday.

The Delhi Metro authorities also said that the approach road leading to the Yamuna Bank station is currently inaccessible.

As water began to enter the premises of a Delhi government-run trauma centre in north Delhi, authorities began shifting about 40 patients to the LNJP Hospital on Thursday.

Three ICU patients were among those being shifted from the Sushruta Trauma Centre located opposite Chandiram Akhada in north Delhi, a senior official said.

“The main gate of the trauma centre has got flooded as water has entered its premises,” another official said.

Doctors said about 40 patients, including three patients, are being shifted to the city government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital (LNJP) in central Delhi.

“One ICU patient was shifted by 2:30 PM and others were being shifted in ambulances,” a senior doctor said.

As the Yamuna water level rises, the Delhi Secretariat housing offices of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his cabinet and other senior bureaucrats, was flooded on Thursday.

According to officials from the Public Works Department, they received information regarding flooding of the Delhi Secretariat. They said they are coordinating with the traffic police and other agencies on the situation.