Parvesh blames AAP, Punjab Govt for water shortage in city

Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Tuesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Punjab Government of orchestrating an artificial water crisis in the national capital as political revenge for their defeat in the recent elections.

Terming the situation a “calculated attack on the people of Delhi,” Verma alleged that the water shortage is not due to natural causes but a deliberate act meant to punish voters.

Verma claimed that over the past week, Delhi has received significantly less water than its standard share from Haryana, which supplies water to the Capital via the Yamuna. He alleged that the reason behind the reduction is the AAP-led Punjab Government’s move to curtail water released from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which directly supplies water to Haryana.

“This is neither a drought, nor a technical glitch. This is political punishment,” Verma said, adding that Delhi is being targeted by a party that once ruled it.

According to Verma, Delhi is supposed to receive 980 cusecs of water per day from Haryana. However, the supply has dropped steadily over the last five days – 88 cusecs short on May 1, 119 on May 2, 71 on May 3, 55 on May 4 and 130 on May 5 — totalling a deficit of 463 cusecs. He said this shortage was already affecting lakhs of households.

The minister questioned the silence of Delhi’s AAP leadership, including Arvind Kejriwal, on the issue. “Why Kejriwal is not raising his voice? This conspiracy has his approval,” Verma said.

Warning that the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi Government will not tolerate any sabotage, he said: “Delhi has elected a new government. If you can’t accept defeat, don’t punish the citizens.”

Verma called upon the Central Government and the BBMB to take immediate corrective action. “This is not just an inter-state issue. It is a threat to the federal structure of our democracy and a direct assault on human rights. We will fight till every drop is restored,” he said.

Sachdeva, BJP MPs meet L-G, submit memo

In a related move, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva and BJP MPs including Manoj Tiwari, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Yogendra Chandolia, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Praveen Khandelwal, and Bansuri Swaraj met L-G VK Saxena and submitted a memorandum over the issue. They alleged that the Punjab Government had intentionally announced a reduction in water supply from the Bhakra Canal — despite no shortage in the Bhakra Dam — solely to create problems for Delhi.

The memorandum stated that AAP, under the direction of its top leadership, is trying to destabilise the new administration in Delhi by manufacturing a crisis. “Now when the people have ousted AAP, Kejriwal and his party are punishing Delhiites,” it said.

Calling the water crisis a politically motivated act, the BJP urged the L-G to intervene to prevent further deterioration.

Delhi