AAP passes the buck again as Yamuna pollution causes Delhi water crisis

New Delhi: Delhi is grappling with severe water shortage due to alarmingly high ammonia contamination in the Yamuna river, primarily attributed to industrial waste from Haryana, AAP alleged on Sunday.

With the water treatment plants (WTPs) at Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi struggling to cope with the ammonia content in the Yamuna's raw water, supply in the national capital is being disrupted, it said.

The Delhi Jal Board on Sunday announced water shortage till November 1 in several parts of the national capital due to the Yamuna's high ammonia content.

"The raw water source of Delhi's 110 MGD (million gallons per day) Bhagirathi WTP and 140 MGD Sonia Vihar WTP is the Upper Ganga Canal, Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Due to scheduled annual maintenance across the Upper Ganga Canal by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department from October 12 to 31, the canal was closed from Haridwar on October 12 midnight," it said.

The WTPs are now dependent on the Yamuna as an alternative source of raw water till October 31, it added.

Vinay Mishra, the Delhi Jal Board vice-president, raised concerns about the Yamuna's water quality, revealing that its ammonia content had surged to 0.9 parts per million (ppm) -- well above the safe threshold of 0.5 ppm for effective treatment.

This contamination has resulted in a 25-30 per cent reduction in water production, severely impacting supply to Delhi residents, he said.

Accusing the BJP-led Haryana government, Mishra claimed political animosity towards AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had led to the Yamuna's pollution being neglected.

"The Haryana government has become hostile, disregarding the wellbeing of Delhi's people," he said, alleging that industrial waste being dumped into the river in the neighbouring state was a major contributing factor to its pollution.

He assured Delhi residents that the Jal Board was actively seeking solutions, announcing plans for discussions with Haryana officials to address the problem.

"Under Arvind Kejriwal's leadership, we are committed to ensuring clean water for Delhiites," Mishra said.

He also expressed hope that the WTPs would operate at their full capacity within the next few days.

Meanwhile, the BJP accused AAP of "failing" to ensure proper water supply in the national capital.

The BJP's Delhi unit spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, "It is regrettable that the Delhi government has failed to ensure proper water supply for the past several months despite a good monsoon and, when the festival season is here, water shortages and cuts are increasing." Kapoor claimed AAP failed the people of Delhi in two ways.

It failed to ensure working sewage treatment plants to prevent wastewater inflow in the Yamuna while also not equipping the Sonia Vihar, Chandrawal, Okhla, Dwarka and other WTPs with the sufficient capacity for effective treatment of ammonia, he added.