AAP, BJP play blame game as toxic Yamuna triggers water shortage scare in Delhi

PTI, Dec 24, 2024, 8:25 AM IST

New Delhi: With Delhi staring at water shortage due to high ammonia levels in Yamuna river, the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP on Monday shifted responsibility to each other over the issue.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has decided to rationalise supply as the Wazirabad water treatment plant is producing 25-50 per cent less water due to high ammonia levels in Yamuna.

Accordingly, it has announced 5-10 per cent diversion of water supply from the other treatment plants until the situation improves.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP government in neighbouring Haryana of contributing to the crisis by allowing unchecked dumping of toxic industrial waste into the Yamuna river.

Bharadwaj said ammonia levels in the river have risen to dangerously high levels, impacting the operation of the Wazirabad water treatment plant (WTP), which is now operating at half its capacity.

The AAP leader then criticised the BJP for its “inaction” on the issue, questioning what steps the Haryana government took in the past decade to address the pollution coming from Panipat and Sonipat regions.

He also claimed that industrial waste from these areas has pushed ammonia levels in Yamuna to 3.5 to 4 parts per million (PPM), which are well beyond safety thresholds.

“This crisis has disrupted water supply to several parts of Delhi, affecting thousands of residents,” Bharadwaj claimed.

Accusing the BJP of using the issue to harass Delhiites ahead of the Assembly elections due in February, Bharadwaj said, “Instead of addressing this environmental and public health disaster, BJP is resorting to tactics to trouble the people of Delhi.” Hitting back at the AAP leader, Delhi BJP General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Yogendra Chandolia dismissed the claims as “false” and “misleading”.

Chandolia claimed that the water entering Delhi from Haryana, particularly at Palla, complies with the statutory regulations and is clean.

However, the water becomes contaminated after it passes through more than 30 untreated drains falling into the Yamuna within Delhi.

The BJP leader also claimed that the water storage pond of the Wazirabad WTP is filled with sand, which exacerbates the ammonia levels.

Blaming the Delhi government for the crisis, Chandolia claimed the real issue lies with the city’s outdated water treatment infrastructure.

“If Delhi’s water treatment plants are unable to control ammonia levels, it is because the AAP government has failed to upgrade the plants,” he said.