’50 million gallons shortage per day, tanker mafia not the only problem,’ Atishi on how to solve Delhi’s water scarcity

Amid a severe water crisis in Delhi, minister Atishi said that the national capital is facing a shortage of 50 million gallons per day (MGD). She urged people to not waste water and asserted that restricting the tanker mafia alone cannot solve the entire water shortage problem. Atishi's statement came days after the Supreme Court slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi over the water crisis and operations of tanker mafia. 

"On June 12, it was 951 MGD. It means production has decreased by 50 MGD in Delhi due to shortage of water, leading to scarcity in areas at the tail-end of the water pipeline network," she said.

"If tanker mafia is active and say 100-200 tankers are operated, it will be not more than 0.1-0.5 MGD of water used by them. Even if the tanker mafia is completely restrained, it will not solve the water crisis in Delhi as it is facing a shortfall of 50 MGD of water," Atishi added.

Atishi said that she met Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail and updated him on the city's water crisis. She said that the Chief Minister should ensure the water crisis is resolved as soon as possible and directed AAP MLAs to go on the ground and take all possible steps to provide water to the people in their areas. 

Meanwhile, the suffering of the people persisted, particularly in unauthorized colonies and slum areas, where exhausted women and children were observed battling alongside adults for a few buckets of water provided by tankers.

Delhi Police patrolling along the Munak canal

As the tanker mafia in Delhi capitalizes on the severe shortage of water, Lt Governor V K Saxena asked the Delhi Police to set up patrols along the Munak canal, which supplies water to the national capital. After the directions, the cops set up pickets and started patrolling the 15-kilometre stretch of the Munak canal on the Haryana border. The canal enters Delhi from Bawana and reaches the Haiderpur Treatment Plant.

(With inputs from PTI)