As the bickering war of words erupted between the AAP-ruled Delhi government and the BJP-ruled Haryana government over Delhi's 'rightful share of water from the Yamuna river', entered its third day, a delegation of AAP leaders, including party leaders Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Dilip Pandey, met Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to discuss the current water crisis in the national capital.
Speaking of the details of the talks held with the Delhi Lt. Governor, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "We requested the Lt. Governor to talk to Haryana. Haryana is still giving around 113 MGD less water to Delhi, due to which lakhs of people are facing problems, and the Lt Governor has assured us that he will talk to the Haryana government and try to ensure that we get Delhi's water."
It is pertinent to note that several parts of Delhi are under an acute water crisis, which AAP said is mostly due to neighboring states reducing their water supply to national capital due to extreme heat. Significantly, Delhi receives around 1,005 MGD from rivers and canals, with Haryana contributing 613 MGD.
However, the AAP government has alleged that the Haryana government has reduced its supply to 513 MGD for several weeks due to the extreme summer heat, impacting over 28 lakh people. Notably, to protest against the alleged reduced water share, Delhi Water Minister Atishi undertook an indefinite water strike, which today has entered its third day.
In a video message shared earlier, she said, "I have been on a hunger strike to get Delhi's share of water. The Haryana government is releasing 100 MGD less water, which is depriving nearly 28 lakh people in Delhi of water. Some journalists have said that the Hathnikund Barrage is full of water, but the Haryana government has shut all gates to stop that water from reaching the national capital."
"My hunger strike will continue till Delhi gets its rightful share of water," she added.
Meanwhile, on the current situation in the national capital, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "After Atishi sat for protest, Haryana reduced at least 17 MGD (million gallons per day) more water, so now Haryana is giving 117 MGD less water. Haryana has stopped water for 85,000 people in the last 3 days...Atishi and I met (Delhi) LG, and he recorded the entire meeting. I'm asking him to make the video recordings public. The whole BJP and LG VK Saxena appointed by them will be exposed."
This is a political drama: BJP
Amid the tumultuous water situation possessed in some parts of Delhi, the state-ruling AAP and the opposition BJP continued to engage in war-of-words. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva says, "This is a political drama being done by AAP. They should have found a solution in this time of crisis. They should have cleaned the Wazirabad barrage and removed the silt. They should have repaired the leakages."
"Instead of improving the situation, AAP is trying to hide its failure. Nothing will be achieved by this," he added.
