Delhi water crisis: Delhi water minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi, who is on the second day of her ‘indefinite hunger strike,’ released a statement on Saturday claiming that few people had come to the protest site to ’cause chaos, to cause a disturbance, to attack me’.
On Saturday, Civil Defence Volunteers protested against her indefinite hunger strike. The AAP minister also said she tried ‘everything’ before going on the hunger strike.
In a video statement posted on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), Delhi minister Atishi said, “I would like to tell the BJP that I am walking the path of Satyagraha as taught by Gandhi ji…I will not be scared of things like this”.
“I am not going to end my Satyagraha with such actions. Until the 28 lakh people of Delhi receive their rightful share of water, this Satyagraha will continue…” the AAP minister added.
Atishi has claimed that Haryana is releasing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water daily and cited this as the reason for the severe water crisis in Delhi.
“Delhi receives a total of 1005 MGD of water that is supplied to the houses in Delhi. Of this, 613 MGD of water comes from Haryana, but only 513 MGD has been released for the past several weeks. Due to this, more than 28 lakh people in Delhi are not receiving water.” Atishi said.
“I tried everything, but when the Haryana government didn’t agree to supply water, I was left with no choice but to sit on a fast,” Atishi said in a video posted on her X handle.
The AAP leader, also the Water Minister in the Delhi government, began her strike on Friday at Bhogal, near Jangpura. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and other party leaders accompanied her.
Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, conveyed a message from the Chief Minister, who is currently under judicial custody, expressing concern over the water scarcity affecting Delhi’s residents.
Kejriwal shared his distress at witnessing the hardships faced by the people of Delhi. CM Kejriwal’s message read that he hopes ‘Atishi’s tapasya will succeed‘.
Meanwhile, a report on Friday also stated that Delhi had used up at least 90 per cent of the available underground water.
The national capital has also been battling severe heatwaves till Friday afternoon, which only alleviated the water crisis.
Delhi witnessed light rainfall on Friday, bringing the much-needed respite.
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Published: 22 Jun 2024, 03:49 PM IST
