BJP stopped water flow to Delhi to cause water crisis; target AAP: Atishi

In a letter to Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, Ms Atishi said it was clear that the neighbouring state was not releasing Delhi’s water share of the Yamuna river. The letter said: “Such actions by the Haryana government, especially in the peak summer season, seems to be a cruel joke against the residents of Delhi, severely affecting their daily lives and well-being. It almost seems to be a deliberate conspiracy amid the election season, aimed at creating an artificial emergency, thereby disrupting normal life in Delhi and creating a situation of panic.”

Seeking urgent intervention of the Haryana CM, Ms Atishi said it was imperative that the neighbouring state should immediately release Delhi’s share of water to bring the normal level of the Yamuna to 674.5 feet. She said if the Haryana government does not take any action, she would move the Supreme Court.

Hitting back at Ms Atishi, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said: “Fearing its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, the AAP has come out with a new lie. When we raised the issue of the water supply crisis on Monday, the minister did not utter a word and now she is blaming the BJP.”

Mr Sachdeva also alleged that “Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had written a letter to her from Tihar Jail a month ago to address the issues of water supply. She should tell what was done in the past month. The corruption and inaction of the AAP government is responsible for the shortage of water in Delhi.”

Earlier, addressing a press conference, Ms Atishi said the matter came to light after they started receiving complaints of water shortage even from those areas where such issues had never risen before.

The minister said: “The Yamuna level mostly remains at 674 feet at Wazirabad and even when it is at the lowest it remains at 672 feet. But on May 11, it was at 671.6 feet and remained at that level for three days. On May 14 and 15, it was at 671.9 feet and then on May 16 it came down to 671.3 feet and then it further declined to 671 feet in the subsequent three days.”

Ms Atishi said that on May 21, maybe for the first time in history, the water level of the Yamuna river came down to 670.9 feet. She accused the BJP of doing this to “tarnish the image of the AAP government” and “to trouble the people of Delhi”. “This is part of the BJP’s conspiracy. More such new conspiracies will happen every day till May 25 in Delhi. Stay alert and don’t get into their schemes. They are scared of the INDIA bloc. That is why they are doing all this.”