BJP, Congress slam AAP over water; DJB says no crisis

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) The heat over the politics of the water crisis is rising in Delhi as the Congress and the BJP blamed the ruling AAP for not being able to deal with the city's water demand, while the DJB said the situation is under control.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has failed to supply water in at least 50 per cent areas of the city, the Congress said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is not ready to acknowledge the water issue.

On the contrary, the DJB said the situation in the national capital is better this time as compared to other states and past years.

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, said the water crisis in the national capital is at its peak this time.

"There was no summer plan or any preparation to meet the increasing water demand in the city," Gupta told IANS, adding that the Arvind Kejriwal government has completely failed.

People are facing a water crisis across the city, and it's unfortunate that "in 50 per cent of the city, the DJB is not supplying water", he said.

Water is being supplied through tankers in various areas but "the situation is serious in old Delhi, remote and rural areas. People are standing in queues for hours for water", Gupta added.

"The private tankers are collecting huge money from people. The DJB is not able to have a proper infrastructure to reach out to each house of the city. They (AAP government) did not put any effort to improve the water situation in Delhi in the past 4.5 years," he said.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel said the city has enough water but the AAP "has failed in management".

"There is no shortage of water but management issues. Half of the city is not getting the water, while half is getting dirty water. They talk about unauthorized colonies, but could not provide them water pipelines," Goel told IANS.

DJB Vice Chairman Dinesh Mohaniya told IANS that there has been no water crisis in the city and the Board is running at 104 per cent of its own capacity to meet the growing demand for water.

"We are producing more water than our capacity. We have production of 104 per cent. If you see other states and metros, say Chennai and Mumbai, they are having official cut of 20 to 40 per cent. They are saying they are not able to provide water and also not able to meet the city's water demand."

Mohaniya, also an AAP MLA, said since the party came to power, the water situation has improved and this year also, the situation is under control despite the rise in temperature.

"We are ensuring that the (water) supplies are normal. The issues in some areas can be because of the weather or maintenance but we are simultaneously resolving the issues.

"There is no point of crisis, there are some issues due to maintenance. The network is so big that leakages and other issues will happen but as soon as we are getting complaints, we are resolving the issue," Mohaniya added.

He said that if there is leakage in an area, "the water supply will be affected. This happens across the year not just in summer".

The Congress said that the Kejriwal government is not ready to accept the crisis situation in the city.

"Our party leaders went to meet Kejriwal and informed them about the serious issues faced by the people over water and electricity. They are not ready to acknowledge the issue," Delhi Congress spokesperson Jitender Kochar told IANS.

He said during peak summer time, the electricity supply was cut for hours in Delhi.

"People are forced to buy water for drinking. They are dependent on tankers. If this is happening in the national capital, what can we say about the rest of the country."

The temperature in Delhi shattered all records in June when it touched 48 degrees Celsius. The city also witnessed its highest-ever peak power demand this season.