Water supply partially restored in Delhi, but it will take days before all is well, says Minister Kapil Mishra

Equipment to operate the canal, a major source of water for the capital, was damaged last week by protesters seeking reservations for the Jat community. In the last three days, many parts of Delhi have experienced severe shortage in water supply.

Engineers of the Delhi Jal Board as well as their counterparts in Haryana were working to repair the damaged equipment at Munak Canal, said Mishra, adding that partial water supply has been restored in north Delhi, west Delhi and parts of central Delhi.

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“I commend the Army for protecting those doing the repair work. Till the time Munak Canal is totally repaired, supply of water to Delhi will be limited,” said the minister.

Three water treatment plants — Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla — have started operating at 100 per cent capacity, said Mishra. “DJB teams have succeeded in starting these plants, servicing parts of north, south and central Delhi. This has reduced water scarcity in these areas; 70 tankers have been diverted to west Delhi and north-west Delhi.”

“The Nangloi plant, which has a capacity of 40 million gallons per day (MGD) per day, is now fully operational. This provides relief to Dwarka and parts of west Delhi,” said Mishra.

However, the water supply to the capital was far from adequate, cautioned the minister.

A DJB official said, “Delhi has received 120 MGD from Haryana till now, but that’s a far cry from the 580 MGD that is required. We are hopeful that the situation will improve… the plants at Bawana and Haiderpur are now partially functional. By morning, water supply will be restored in areas like Rohini and Paschim Vihar…”

He added, “Tankers will be redirected to areas which are still struggling with water scarcity. All the plants are functioning now either at full or partial capacity.”