Oldest Delhi village gets water, but no one knows where it’s coming from
Lado Sarai, a ward reserved for women, doesn’t have a BJP candidate. Instead the party is supporting BSP candidate Lata Soni, who has denied the charges of misinformation.
3 min read
A dry well at Lado Sarai. Over the past 10 years, water paucity has been a major problem in the area. Renuka Puri
Until three months ago, residents of Lado Sarai — one of Delhi’s oldest villages — had to buy drinking water as a number of households did not have water connections. Now, with PVC pipelines being laid in the area, some households are finally getting piped water. Others, too, hope they will get a connection soon.
But residents don’t know where the water is coming from. Many believe that the BJP-led MCD is responsible. AAP, however, maintained that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is the sole purveyor of potable water in the capital. The Congress, which won the ward in the previous election, alleged “misinformation” by the BJP, a charge the party denied.
Over the past 10 years, water paucity has been a major problem in the area. Dried wells dating back centuries — now deemed a hazard and boarded up — along with 20 litre water bottles being lugged atop cycles to different homes are testimony to the ongoing water crisis. As per a 2016 report by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), between January 2015 and 2016, water levels had dropped sharply across Delhi but most alarmingly in the southern parts of the city.
Samir Sejwal, who runs a juice shop, said, “Until a few months ago, we had to buy drinking water. Now, we are getting water which is being provided by the DJB. But we aren’t sure if it falls under the MCD or the Delhi government.”
Another resident, Raju Choudhury (23), a student, said, “The MCD did all the work that allowed the DJB to work in the area. The Congress did nothing and then AAP did nothing either. It’s because the DJB is being run by BJP that we are getting water.”
Lado Sarai, a ward reserved for women, doesn’t have a BJP candidate. Instead the party is supporting BSP candidate Lata Soni, who has denied the charges of misinformation.
With the MCD polls just hours away, political parties have been vying with each other to claim credit for laying the pipelines. Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, who ended his campaigning on Friday in the adjacent Mehrauli ward, had said, “I have seen the disenchantment with Arvind Kejriwal’s government and support for PM Narendra Modi’s development politics.”
AAP leaders pointed out that this theme of “Modi’s development” and “disenchantment” with AAP was being exploited by the BJP to create further confusion. A leader said, “The campaign that the BJP is running that we did not work is not true. Look at the water issue in Lado Sarai. All the work was done by the AAP government, but the BJP maintains that it was them. It is misinformation and dirty politics.”
The Congress, too, made similar allegations. Aman Panwar from the Delhi Congress, said, “The BJP are masters of misinformation. But we believe that the voter is far too intelligent to fall for such dirty politics.”
BJP spokesperson, Tajinder Bagga said he “couldn’t comment on the issue”. Delhi Water minister Kapil Mishra and AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey, refused to comment.
You May Like
Photos
