Delhi Water Minister Atishi continued her indefinite fast, which enters the second day on Saturday, over the water crisis in the national capital. She.began her indefinite hunger strike in south Delhi’s Bhogal to press on her demand for more water from Haryana.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal, along with AAP MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, were present as Atishi began her fast. Sunita Kejriwal read out a message from the chief minister, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail, in which he expressed hope that Atishi’s ‘tapasya’ would be successful.
The chief minister said he was immensely pained by seeing on TV the plight of the people facing water shortage amid the ongoing intense heatwave. “It’s our culture to provide water to the thirsty. Delhi gets water from neighbouring states. We hoped for the support of neighbouring states in such intense heat”, he said.
But, Kejriwal deplored that Haryana reduced Delhi’s water share. Although there are governments of different parties in the two states, he advised that it is this time for politics over water, referring to the BJP that is in power in Haryana.
Meanwhile, in a video message from her ‘Jal Satyagraha’ venue Atishi said she will not eat anything till Haryana releases more water for the people in the city, 28 lakh of whom she said were water shortage.
She alleged that Haryana was not releasing Delhi’s rightful share of water in Yamuna. She said 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water was released by Haryana on Friday. “One MGD water provides for 28,000 people. Shortage of 100 MGD water means 28 lakh people are not getting water in Delhi,” she added.
The minister said that Delhi depends on neighbouring states for water. It receives 1,005 MGD water from neighbouring states through rivers and canals, out of which Haryana provides 613 MGD, she said.
In the extreme summer heat faced by Delhi, Haryana has reduced its share to 513 MGD for a few weeks affecting over 28 lakh people, she added.
