Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘appeal’ to BJP over acute water crisis in Delhi

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday expressed concern over the water crisis in the national capital, while accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politics over the issue.

“The entire country is reeling under intense heatwave, resulting in water and electricity crisis. Last year, Delhi’s power peak demand stood at 7,438 MW. This year, the peak demand has shot up to 8,302 MW. Still, Delhi’s power situation is under control and the city is not facing power cuts like other states,” Kejriwal posted on social platform X.

Pointing to water crisis in the capital, Kejriwal said,”But the demand for water supply has shot up due to heatwave. There has been a cut in the water supplied to Delhi from the neighbouring states. It means that demand is huge and shortage is very less.”

“We have to come together to solve this problem. The BJP is staging sit-in protests against our government. It will not solve any problem. I urge everyone with folded hands to come together to provide relief to the people of Delhi instead of politics. If the BJP speaks to its governments in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and provide some water to Delhi for a month, then the people of Delhi will appreciate its efforts,” the chief minister added.

“If we work together, then surely we can provide relief to the people,” he said.

Kejriwal’s appeal to the BJP comes amid severe water crisis in the national capital, with several areas witnessing residents scrambling with empty buckets to water tankers. Some people have been even seen jumping the queue to get to the top of the tankers to fill their vessels.

The Delhi government has announced a slew of emergency measures, including a ban on usage of potable water for car washing and its use at construction sites, people in Sanjay Camp in Chanakyapuri were seen lining up on footpaths to fill water from tankers.

As soon as an NDMC tanker arrived, people, carrying pipes, rushed towards it and some climbed on its top to fill their buckets.

In Vivekananda Colony in Chanakyapuri, children, men and women climbed atop the water tanker.

Deepak Srivastava, a resident of one of the affected areas in Chanakyapuri told PTI, “We need water, otherwise we will die. Earlier, six to seven water tankers used to come, but now there is just one, exacerbating the crisis.”

Janki, another resident from the same area, accused political parties of indulging only in electoral politics and not thinking about the common people.

“Political parties come here to ask for votes, but no one gives us water. I have been living here for the last 30 years and have only seen tankers. We need some development from the upcoming government, like tap water,” she said.