In a fresh round of friction between Delhi Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the former has written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, flagging the miserable hygiene and sanitary conditions at Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP) that supplies drinking water to large parts of the national capital.
This comes after the L-G visited the facility on Saturday and expressed his concern seeing the worsening condition of the plant. In his letter, L-G Saxena also flagged gross inaction on part of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in cleaning/desilting the pond reservoir behind the Wazirabad barrage, which supplies water to Wazirabad and Chandrawal Water Treatment Plants. Further, he also said that concerned officials must be punished for this gross negligence.
No desiltation took place of the pond in the last 8 years
Despite a desilting contract being in place since 2013, no desiltation took place resulting in the depth of the pond reducing from 4.26 metres to a mere 0.42 metres during the last 8 years. According to the information, the pond had the capacity to hold 250 million gallons of water, but it has now reduced due to siltation by 93% and can now hold only 16 million gallons.
“Frequent water shortage in the city including the one that recently took place before Holi, on account of Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs not being operational fully, is solely due to this reason and not because of Haryana — excuses that AAP makes to fool the people,” the letter read.
DJB Vice-Chairman inspects Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant
Earlier on March 8, Delhi Jal Board Vice-Chairman Saurabh Bhardwaj inspected the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant as the water level in the Yamuna River continues to fall. During his inspection, Bhardwaj said that the water level in Yamuna had witnessed an unprecedented decrease. The condition of Yamuna today is usually seen in the months of April and May in Delhi.
He informed that this time the water level of Yamuna near Wazirabad Barrage has suddenly gone down to 671.7 feet in the month of February itself. He said that the normal level of Yamuna River at Wazirabad Barrage should be 674.5 feet.
The DJB Vice-Chairman also said the depth of Yamuna should be at least 3.5 feet which allows the offtake of raw water from Yamuna for the Water Treatment Plant. Visible water of Yamuna at the barrage is also not actually water from the Yamuna but actually the industrial waste released by Haryana that cannot be treated.
Bhardwaj had also alleged that the key reason for the water level decrease in Yamuna is not rising temperatures but the rampant illegal sand mining being done indiscriminately in the Yamuna river in the state of Haryana.
