As several parts of Delhi face an acute water shortage amid extreme summer heat, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP of conspiring against the people, while the BJP staged a Matka-Phod protest against the Arvind Kejriwal government to highlight the crisis.
AAP leader Atishi alleged that the BJP’s former South Delhi MP, Ramesh Bidhuri, attacked the Delhi Jal Board office in Chhatarpur along with some goons amid the ongoing water crisis in the national capital. The crisis has sparked widespread protests, vandalism, and political confrontations across the city. On Sunday, the Delhi Jal Board office was vandalized by some BJP workers in Chhatarpur.
During a press conference, Atishi said, “Delhi is currently facing severe heat. Even in this difficult time, the BJP has left no stone unturned to trouble the people of Delhi. The BJP is hatching a conspiracy against the people. This conspiracy has three parts. The first part of this is to stop the water supply to Delhi from the BJP government of Haryana. Due to this not even a drop of water is left at the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant.”
Atishi claimed that pipelines carrying water from Delhi’s water treatment plants were found to be broken, alleging that it was part of the BJP’s conspiracy. She stated, “Whatever water is produced by Delhi’s water treatment plants, that much water is sent forward through pipelines. Now these pipelines are being damaged. How BJP leaders reach in front of broken pipelines. They click photos. Yesterday, the pipeline that supplies water to South Delhi from Sonia Vihar was found to be broken. Was this pipeline broken intentionally? This would not have happened on its own. This is also a part of the conspiracy.”
Atishi accused Bidhuri and BJP workers of throwing pots and vandalizing the Delhi Jal Board office in Chhatarpur. She said, “So you all saw that the person who attacked the Delhi Jal Board office in Chhatarpur was none other than the BJP’s former South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who went inside the office with goons. You saw that all the people with him were wearing BJP sashes, BJP flags were visible in the background, and BJP workers, or should I say BJP goons, were throwing pots in the Delhi Jal Board office, breaking glasses, damaging the office.”
“We have complained about the attack to the Delhi Police. I’ve shared the video of the attack with the DCP of South Delhi Police. Now we will wait and see if the police file the complaint against Bidhuri or not,” she added.
Meanwhile, police officials inspected the Jal Board pipelines in the Yamuna Khadar area of northeast Delhi on Sunday and reported no leakage. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Lokendra Sirohi said, “There is no leakage here. If there is any leakage, we will inform the Jal Board and our control room.”
Atishi emphasized that if the Centre does not intervene, the situation will not improve, and the BJP should talk to its government in Haryana to secure more water for Delhi. She also wrote a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, urging the deployment of police personnel to protect major pipelines in the national capital.
The letter read, “I am writing to request deployment of police personnel to patrol and protect our major pipelines for the next 15 days to stop miscreants or people with ulterior motives from tampering with water pipelines which have now become Delhi’s lifelines. At this juncture, any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi.”
The letter added, “Delhi Jal Board has patrolling teams for our main water distribution network that carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and then from our WTPs to our main underground reservoirs in different parts of the city. In addition, we have deployed teams under the supervision of ADMs to support in this work.”
Atishi requested the Commissioner deploy personnel to protect the major pipelines for the next 15 days, reiterating, “This would be very important for putting a stop to miscreants or people with ulterior motives from tampering with our water pipelines, which have now become Delhi’s lifelines. At this juncture, any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi.”
