New Delhi: In the relentless blame game involving the ruling AAP and the BJP over water crisis, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Tuesday alleged water theft from Munak canal in collusion with the Kejriwal government. In a press conference, Sachdeva showed purported photos and videos of water being drawn from the Munak canal through tankers.
"The water supplied to Delhi by Haryana is being stolen by tanker mafia from the Munak canal area. The water scarcity in Delhi is a premeditated conspiracy orchestrated by the AAP government, turning it into a money-making scheme," alleged Sachdeva. Sachdeva also questioned the Delhi government why the long pending Chandrawal and Dwarka water treatment plants were still not operational.
"Delhi residents are struggling for every drop of water and its responsibility lies with the Water minister, Delhi Jal Board and its officials," he said. Sachdeva said the Delhi government ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj inspected the Munak Canal area, where the Jal Board officials confirmed that Haryana is supplying more than enough water. Despite this, the ministers continue to blame the Haryana government, he said.
He also said that Atishi was repeatedly talking about additional water from Himachal Pradesh but the Delhi government lacked treatment and storage facilities for it. The Delhi Jal Board can treat only 900 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, and any additional water will exacerbate theft and wastage, he claimed.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the people are posting videos showing wastage of water due to leaks in the Jal Board pipelines. Delhi Water Minister Atishi and AAP national chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar lashed at the BJP and LG VK Saxena, saying why water theft was not checked by him as the Delhi Police came under his jurisdiction.
Kakkar in a press conference accused the BJP of indulging in negative politics and asked why can't the LG direct the Delhi Police under him to prevent water theft.
