The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi water crisis getting worse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 25, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Delhi water crisis getting worse

Staff Reporter

All gates of barrage closed to improve water level This is for the first time since the signing of the water sharing agreement between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh in May 1994 that all the gates of the barrage have been closed in complete violation of the agreement

NEW DELHI: : The water crisis in the Capital is only getting worse. On Sunday, the water level at the Wazirabad barrage dipped further, forcing the Delhi Jal Board to close all 25 gates of the barrage to improve the water level, which, experts say, is against the water sharing agreement between five States signed in 1994.

In the past four days, water level at the crucial Wazirabad barrage has constantly declined. As per the Supreme Court directions, it is mandatory to maintain the barrage's level at 674.5 feet for ensuring proper supply to the Capital and for releasing water to other States. But the level has been on the decline and on Sunday it stood at 672.2 feet against Saturday's 672.4 feet.

Though Haryana has stated that it was releasing an additional 100 cusecs of the Yamuna water through Munak canal to maintain the level at the Wazirabad barrage, it might take another three to four days for the water to reach Delhi. So, to meet the immediate demand, the DJB has closed all the barrage gates.

This is for the first time since the signing of the water sharing agreement between Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh in May 1994 that all the gates of the barrage have been closed in complete violation of the agreement, experts said, adding that the supply of the Yamuna water to Uttar Pradesh has been completely stopped.

Agreement states that Delhi has to maintain a flow of at least 10 cubic metric per second in the Yamuna from the Wazirabad barrage to ensure that other States also get water, they said, adding that interestingly, as per the water sharing agreement, Uttar Pradesh's share of the Yamuna water was 4.245 billion cubic metre per annum against Delhi 0.723 billion cubic metre per annum. Moreover, the Yamuna travels just 22 km in Delhi while in Uttar Pradesh it covers over 700 km and form crucial source of water for residents in many cities and towns, particularly Agra and Mathura.

However, the shutting of all gates at the Wazirabad barrage is likely to ease Delhi's water problems and with additional water from Haryana reaching the Capital within the next three to four days, the water level at the barrage might increase. Though currently all the DJB's pumps are operating at their optimum level, still the output is low due to less availability of raw water. However, the crisis might worsen if there is a further decline in the water level. On Sunday also several parts of Delhi remained hit by the water crisis. And it were the areas of East and North East Delhi that bore the brunt and people here had no option but to purchase bottled water.

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