Delhi heatwave: The Delhi Congress, on Wednesday, appealed to the Haryana government to release more water amid a scarcity of water as well as intense heatwave that has gripped the national capital. This comes after the Delhi government announced a fine of Rs 2,000 on anyone found to be wasting water.
The Delhi Congress urged the Haryana government to release more water into Yamuna river from the Tajewala barrage. State party chief Devender Yadav said that Delhi has been experiencing a severe water shortage and that agencies must join forces and work on a war footing to overcome the crisis.
"Due to the unprecedented heat wave sweeping the national capital, the city has been experiencing severe water shortage. Various concerned agencies should join hands to tackle water shortage on a war footing, and people should also use water judiciously without wasting a drop of drinking water," Yadav said in a statement.
Quoting a Delhi Jal Board report, Yadav said that the daily water supply has come down to 969 million gallons per day (MGD) against the requirement of 1,290 MGD. He also urged the Delhi government to invest in rain-water harvesting.
On Wednesday, water minister Atishi wrote to the DJB CEO to deploy 200 teams from today to ensure that there is no water wastage. “There is an acute heatwave in Delhi and a shortage of water supply since Haryana is not releasing Delhi’s share of water. Under these circumstances conservation of water becomes extremely important,” she said, adding that washing of cars with water pipes, overflowing water tanks, using domestic water connections for commercial and construction work will invite Rs 2,000 fine, as well as disconnection of the water line.
This comes as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that temperatures in the city touched record-breaking 52.3°C. Mungeshpur, a suburb of Delhi, saw its highest temperature ever, surpassing 50°C for the first time in the city's history. However, in a subsequent update, IMD stated that the record-breaking temperature of over 52 degrees Celsius recorded in Mungeshpur was an "error in sensor or local factor."