Delhi water crisis: Minister Atishi to begin indefinite hunger strike at Bhogal today

NEW DELHI: Demanding immediate release of additional water from Haryana, Delhi water minister Atishi will go on an indefinite satyagraha (hunger strike) from Friday in Jangpura’s Bhogal.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that before beginning the fast at 12 noon, Atishi would visit Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, whose teachings on satyagraha as a means of non-violent resistance inspired her actions.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Atishi said Delhi was facing a water shortage of more than 100 million gallon per day (MGD) when people were troubled by heatwaves.
She said Delhi’s total water supply was 1,005MGD, of which 613MGD came from Haryana. “Haryana govt has been giving only 513MGD for the past few days. Due to this, more than 28 lakh Delhiites are not getting their share of water,” Atishi claimed.
In a post on X, the minister said despite all efforts, the Haryana government was not releasing the full share of Delhi's water.
“As water minister, I have tried everything possible. I spoke to central govt, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Though Himachal is ready to give water, that, too, will have to come through Haryana. Haryana govt has refused to give more water to Delhi. Now I have no other option left to provide water to the people of Delhi, and from June 21, I will sit on an indefinite fast,” she added.
There comes a time when there is no solution to any problem and Gandhiji has taught that to fight the battle of truth, there is no other option left except satyagraha, Atishi said.
According to the water minister’s office, Delhi gets its share of the Yamuna water through a 1994 agreement among the northern states — Uttar Pradesh, HP, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. It added that Delhi’s population has increased almost three times since 1994, but its water share had remained constant at 1,005MGD. Delhi gets 257MGD from UP and 135MGD is extracted from ranney wells and tubewells.
“Delhi has been repeatedly requesting Haryana to release the shortfall of 100 MGD on humanitarian grounds. This constitutes only 1.5% of Haryana’s water supply, but Haryana govt is unwilling to help,” Atishi said, adding that the 1994 agreement will have to be revisited in 2025.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh called on all parties in the opposition INDIA bloc to support the party’s demand for fair water distribution to Delhi. Targeting BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lieutenant governor VK Saxena, he asked why the people of Delhi, who had elected all seven BJP MPs, were still being deprived of their essential water needs.
Meanwhile, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) reported 924 MGD water production on Thursday, a slight improvement from 916MGD on Tuesday. While DJB’s summer action plan has set a target of 1,000MGD this year, the estimated requirement of the city, as per the economic survey of Delhi, is 1,290MGD.
The water treatment plants (WTPs) at Wazirabad, Chandrawal, Dwarka and Bawana are not working at optimal levels. Against a capacity of 131MGD, the Wazirabad WTP produced just 88MGD on Thursday. The plant has been facing the maximum problem due to the low supply of raw water through the Yamuna channels from Haryana and has reported the biggest drop in drinking water production. The shortfall has also impacted the distribution from other plants.
Another major WTP at Chandrawal produced 86MGD against its capacity of 94MGD while the Bawana WTP reported a dip of 2MGD.
The water levels at the Wazirabad pond have been continuously going down, putting pressure on the overall supply network and leading to water scarcity in several parts of the city.