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The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Monday moved the Supreme Court against the Haryana government, seeking its immediate intervention in the matter of discharging untreated pollutants into the Yamuna river.
DJB vice-chairman Raghav Chadha said the water body has approached the top court seeking immediate stoppage of discharge of pollutants and also to release adequate raw water to Delhi. Chadha said the national capital has reached a stage of water crisis because of the high ammonia levels in Yamuna and depleting water level at the Wazirabad barrage, which supplies drinking water to Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal water treatment plants in Delhi. According to the DJB, water levels that should stand at 674.50 feet have come down to a low of 670.4 feet. Chadha said, "Haryana government has once again reduced the supply of raw water to Delhi which is leading to a water shortage in the city. The Haryana government has repeatedly shown such behaviour which is highly disappointing at the time when Delhi needs more water." He further added that continuous fall in the water level of Yamuna has been a matter of grave concern for Delhi. "Despite several concerns raised before the Haryana government in the matter, no concrete action has been taken yet and there has been no improvement towards restoring any normalcy," Chadha added. The national capital receives raw water from Haryana via three different sources - carrier-lined channel (CLC), Delhi sub-branch (DSB) and the Yamuna. According to the DJB, CLC and DSB supply water from the Hathni Kund via the Munak canal and Bhakra Nagal canal. Currently, DJB receives only 479 MGD water per day against 609 MGD from Haryana. Chadha said, "Decrease of raw water supply has had a serious impact on the functioning of DJB's treatment plants. Delhi faces raw water problem every two weeks. This is caused either due to less flow in the Yamuna or less flow in the Delhi sub-branch and also due to the discharge of polluted water in the Yamuna, which affects water production." Chadha further added that observing the current situation of water shortage, the DJB has moved to the Supreme Court to avert a severe water crisis in Delhi and also to immediately cease the discharge of untreated pollutants into the Yamuna. --IANS pd/arm ( 391 Words) 2021-03-09-00:26:38 (IANS)
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