Delhi water crisis: Atishi writes to PM Modi, threatens indefinite strike over water crisis

To address the ongoing water crisis in the national capital, Delhi's Water Minister Atishi on Wednesday delivered an ultimatum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At a press conference held in Delhi, Atishi disclosed that she has penned a letter to the Prime Minister highlighting the severe water scarcity situation in Delhi and warned of an indefinite strike that will begin from June 21 if the matter remains unresolved.

The underlying issue, as Atishi explained, stems from Haryana's failure to release the designated share of water to Delhi. She revealed that while Delhi is entitled to receive 613 million gallons per day (MGD) of water from Haryana, only 513 MGD was supplied recently.

"Yesterday, Haryana released 513 MGD of water to Delhi as against 613 MGD. One MGD of water is for 28,500 people. This means that water was not released for over 28 lakh people," she added.

Notably, the water crisis in Delhi has faced with challenges faced by the citizens, who are not only combating scorching heatwave conditions but also grappling with the acute shortage of water resources. Atishi emphasised that repeated appeals had been made to the Haryana government to address the situation promptly.

Expressing her frustration over the prolonged inaction, she reiterated her call for urgent intervention from the Prime Minister to expedite a resolution. Atishi made it clear that she is prepared to escalate the protest by initiating an indefinite strike starting June 21 if concrete steps are not taken within the next couple of days to alleviate the crisis that has beset the national capital.