Waste water collection room at Wazirabad water treatment plant. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Raj Niwas officials on Saturday said Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal highlighted the unhygienic and unhygienic conditions at the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP).
According to officials, Mr Saxena also pointed out “gross inaction” on the part of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in desilting the reservoir of the pond behind the Wazirabad Barrage.
Mr Saxena’s statements drew a sharp reaction from newly appointed water minister and DJB chairman Saurabh Bhardwaj, who called it an attempt to “divert” from the issue of “illegal sand mining” in BJP-ruled Haryana.
The DJB had said on Tuesday that due to illegal sand mining in Haryana, the city is getting less water from the Yamuna, affecting the supply of treated water.
According to the DJB, low water levels in the Yamuna have reduced production at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants, affecting supplies to several areas of Delhi ahead of the summer.
reduced capacity
Noting that the WTP supplies drinking water to large parts of the national capital, Mr Saxena said in his letter that the pond has the capacity to hold 250 million gallons of water. However, the capacity has come down to 16 million gallons as no desilting work has been done, LG said.
Mr. Saxena said that despite the desilting contract being in place since 2013, no desilting work has taken place, as a result of which the depth of the pond has reduced from 4.26 meters to just 0.42 meters in the last eight years. Wazirabad and Chandrawal. Raj Niwas officials said the LG said the “persistent water shortage” in the city was due to non-commissioning of Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs and not because of “the excuses made by you to fool people”.
Aam Aadmi Party replied
Mr Bhardwaj said illegal sand mining in Haryana has blocked the Yamuna’s water supply towards the city, and industrial waste water has been released instead. He said that the water of the Wazirabad pond is “nothing but industrial waste from the drains of Haryana”, and is of no use due to the presence of high levels of pollutants, especially ammonia. “People of Delhi are extremely saddened that the LG is playing dirty politics on the sensitive issue of water supply in the city. Either they are not aware of the facts or they are deliberately doing cheap politics. The issue raised by him is due to the inefficiency and inaction of the Haryana government due to which the people of Delhi are suffering,” he said, adding that the LG is trying to blame the Delhi government.
Mr Bhardwaj said the Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs have been getting contaminated water for the “last many years”, resulting in repeated rusting of mechanical equipment. “Ensuring the delivery of clean water to the public is the joint responsibility of those holding constitutional posts. Therefore, the Delhi Government proposes a joint visit of the entire stretch of Yamuna from Delhi border to Tajewala with the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Minister of Haryana to show evidence of mining and pollution dumping.