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Hiccups in water flow to Sonia Vihar plant

By Our Staff Reporter

MURADNAGAR (U.P.), DEC. 27. Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department yesterday said they had not received any directive or order from Lucknow to release water from the Uppar Ganga Canal for the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant in Delhi, crucial for solving the water woes of the national Capital.

"Discussions have been held at the highest level, but in the absence of a Government order, we are unable to release water to Delhi," a senior U. P. Irrigation Department official said. For its part, the Delhi Jal Board had on December 23 claimed that the neighbouring State Government had agreed to release 80 cusecs of water, which would reach Sonia Vihar by Saturday.

The water is to be used for flushing and trial run of the plant and the transmission system, which senior DJB officials claimed was ready for operation. Constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 700 crores, the plant has the capacity to treat 140 million gallons of water daily.

Referring to a century-old manual, which is the basis of the Irrigation Department functioning, the officials said: "It is only after we receive the Government order that we would be able to release the requisite water to Delhi."

Though, the Irrigation Department might release some amount of water from the Upper Ganga Canal here immediately following issuance of Government order given the political sensitivity of the issue in Delhi, officials said it would take two days for them to put the machinery in order and release raw water. "It would take another two days for the water to reach Muradnagar," he said.

From here it would be supplied to Sonia Vihar through a 30-km conduit. "We are ready to supply the water from here to the plant. It would normally take about 12 hours to reach Sonia Vihar. But as it is being released for the first time, the flow would be slow and would take 24 hours to reach its destination," an official from the U. P. Jal Nigam said.

The Irrigation Department official, who held meetings with senior officials from U. P. Jal Nigam and Delhi Jal Board on preparations for release of water and its unhindered supply to the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant, here this week, said: "This is only one time release. The regular flow might begin only next summer."

Referring to the strong brick wall, which stops the flow of water from the Upper Ganga Canal to the conduit, which is dry at present, officials of the Jal Nigam said so far no action had been initiated to open the gate and break this wall.

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