In the early hours on Sunday, near Kondli Bridge under the Kalyanpuri crossing in East Delhi, a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) staffer got out of his car to check the main pipeline — only to find a local resident atop it. The employee took out his phone and started shooting a video.
“Who are you, why are you on the pipeline?” he can be heard saying.
“Can’t I climb the pipeline? Who are you?” the man shot back.
The staff member, who showed the video of the interaction to The Indian Express, said locals then closed in, grabbed him, and threatened him to stop recording the video. He said he left the spot after encountering men equipped with a valve-cutting machine to “tamper” with the main pipeline.
Around 20 km away, the South Delhi Rising Mains pipeline near Garhi Mendu (Northeast Delhi) was found to have a big leak. Water Minister Atishi said six bolts were removed, which allegedly led to the leak. It took a six-hour shutdown to fix.
Roughly 15 km from here, at Anna Nagar near ITO, a new pipeline had to be put in after the old one was damaged.
Across localities, the challenges are different but the underlying issue of tampering with the main pipeline is common.
In one of Delhi’s hottest summers in 80 years, ensuring water availability has proved to be the AAP government’s biggest challenge and the point of contention between it and the opposition BJP and Congress.
Nitin Tyagi, a former AAP MLA who switched over to the BJP on Sunday, posted a video of locals taking a bath at the Kondli pipeline on X. “Delhi Jal Board has made arrangements for everyone to bathe in front of Pillar 267 near Kondli Bridge. This has been happening smoothly for two months. Is Haryana and BJP to blame for this, Atishi?” he posted.
Atishi, on her part, alleged a “conspiracy” by the BJP to stop the Haryana government from supplying water and to tamper with pipelines at several locations to disrupt the Delhi government’s functioning and worsen the Capital’s water crisis.
When The Indian Express visited Kondli around 1 pm, a crowd of around 50 people, mostly living in nearby areas of Kichripur and Trilokpuri, had gathered to take a bath in the water leaking from the pipe. A few also came with bottles and bigger containers to take home some water.
People of the area did not complain about any shortage but of poor quality.
Dheeraj, 45, a resident of Old Kondli said, “We have come here to enjoy; since it is a Sunday, there are many people. This water is cold and clear, better than what we get at home so I came to collect this.”
At Anna Nagar, residents complained to The Indian Express about people damaging the pipeline and water contamination. “People in vehicles come frequently to puncture the pipelines. The water we get here is not suitable for drinking,” said a resident who did not want to be named.
A DJB official, requesting anonymity, explained the reasons for the poor water quality: “The sewer pipes run parallel to the main pipeline which is why if there are holes, the water gets mixed and there is a chance for contamination.”
DJB officials too have their work cut out in carrying out constant repairs.
According to an official, repairs have been undertaken at Kondli after a consumer in the locality lodged a complaint. “We have been taking care of this matter for over a month now. Even after three repairs, we find bolts open or the valves cut. If the valves are cut, we need to do welding work which is not easy to do repeatedly,” said the DJB official who did not want to be named.
He also alleged that illegal water tankers fill up water from the line at night.
The official added, “In summer, people are in a frenzy to get relief from the heat; pipelines are tampered with and our efforts to repair them are in vain.”
Atishi, meanwhile, in a letter to the Commissioner of Police, urged the police to patrol for 15 days and provide protection for the main pipeline network
At Kondli, people, mostly living in nearby areas of Kichripur and Trilokpuri, had gathered to take a bath in the water leaking from the pipe on Sunday. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra) 
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