Lutyens’ Delhi to get 40% less water as DJB slashes supply to key reservoirs

Lutyens’ Delhi will receive around 40% less water in the coming days due to a reduction in the supply to the Tilak Marg and Bengali Market underground reservoirs by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), an official said on Monday as the water crisis deepened in the national capital.

“As informed by the DJB, the production of potable water at the Wazirabad plant is not running at full capacity due to the non-availability of raw water. Hence, the water supply in command areas of the reservoirs will be made available once in a day, preferably in the morning,” the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) official added.

However, the official did not tell for how long the supply cut will continue, even as the civic body urged people to save water and use it judiciously.

The measure is likely to hit several upscale areas like Bengali Market, Ashoka Road, HC Mathur Lane, Copernicus Marg, Purana Quila Road, Babar Road, Barakhamba Road, K.G. Marg, Windsor Place, Firoz Shah Road and Canning Lane.

Meanwhile, Delhi Water Minister Atishi visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant and said the water level at the facility’s pond has dropped by over six metres to 668.30 metres in the past few days.

On June 17 last year, the water level here stood at 974.50 metres, the Minister said.

Ms. Atishi reiterated that the situation has been caused by the non-release of the city’s share of the Yamuna water by BJP-ruled Haryana into the Munak canal that feeds the Wazirabad barrage. The barrage supplies water to Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla treatment plants, from where treated water is supplied to people.

‘Shortage of raw water’

“If the raw water doesn’t come from the source, then the production of water is bound to be impacted. Earlier, the plant was producing 1,005 MGD [million gallons per day] and is producing only 917 MGD now,” said Ms. Atishi.

She said the distribution loss arising from leakages cannot cause the crisis of the present scale.

“I’m aware that there are areas where households have not installed water meters. However, the practice is mostly prevalent in unauthorised colonies, where water is mostly used for drinking purposes. It is not used for commercial purposes to cause its scarcity,” the Minister added.