Delhi minister Atishi asks police to guard water pipelines
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Water minister Atishi on Sunday wrote to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora requesting deployment of personnel for patrolling and protecting major pipelines for next 15 days, as the national capital grapples with a water crisis.
In her letter, the minister said Delhi is reeling under a severe heat wave and a water crisis.
"Due to shortage of water being received in the Yamuna, water production has fallen by around 70 MGD and many parts of Delhi are experiencing water shortage. In this situation, every drop of water becomes precious," the letter said.
The Delhi Jal Board has deployed patrol teams for the main water distribution network that carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and then from them to the main underground reservoirs in different parts of the city, Atishi said in the letter. "In addition, we have deployed teams under the supervision of ADMs to support in this work."
The minister said that on Saturday the DJB's ground patrolling team reported a major leakage in its south Delhi Rising Mains -- the main water pipeline that carries water from Sonia Vihar WTP to south Delhi.
"This was near the DTL sub station in Garhi Medhu. Our patrolling team found that several large 375 mm bolts and one 12 inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline causing the leakage. The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage," the letter read.
Atishi requested Arora for deployment of police patrol and protect the city's major pipelines for the next 15 days and prevent "miscreants or people with ulterior motives" from tampering with water pipelines.
"At this juncture any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi," she wrote.
About the pipeline that was damaged, she said a maintenance team worked for six hours in one stretch and repaired the leak.
"... but this meant that we had to stop pumping of water for 6 hours and 20 MGD of water was not pumped during this time. As a consequence a further 25% of water shortage will be experienced in South Delhi," the minister said.
New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) Delhi Water minister Atishi on Sunday wrote to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora requesting deployment of personnel for patrolling and protecting major pipelines for next 15 days, as the national capital grapples with a water crisis.
In her letter, the minister said Delhi is reeling under a severe heat wave and a water crisis.
"Due to shortage of water being received in the Yamuna, water production has fallen by around 70 MGD and many parts of Delhi are experiencing water shortage. In this situation, every drop of water becomes precious," the letter said.
The Delhi Jal Board has deployed patrol teams for the main water distribution network that carries raw water to the Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and then from them to the main underground reservoirs in different parts of the city, Atishi said in the letter. "In addition, we have deployed teams under the supervision of ADMs to support in this work."
The minister said that on Saturday the DJB's ground patrolling team reported a major leakage in its south Delhi Rising Mains -- the main water pipeline that carries water from Sonia Vihar WTP to south Delhi.
"This was near the DTL sub station in Garhi Medhu. Our patrolling team found that several large 375 mm bolts and one 12 inch bolt had been cut from the pipeline causing the leakage. The fact that several large bolts had been cut seems to indicate foul play and sabotage," the letter read.
Atishi requested Arora for deployment of police patrol and protect the city's major pipelines for the next 15 days and prevent "miscreants or people with ulterior motives" from tampering with water pipelines.
"At this juncture any foul play and sabotage will worsen the already difficult water shortage being faced by the people of Delhi," she wrote.
About the pipeline that was damaged, she said a maintenance team worked for six hours in one stretch and repaired the leak.
"... but this meant that we had to stop pumping of water for 6 hours and 20 MGD of water was not pumped during this time. As a consequence a further 25% of water shortage will be experienced in South Delhi," the minister said.
Delhi Minister #Atishi has reached out to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, requesting police personnel to guard significant water pipelines in the capital to prevent tampering and address the water shortage crisis.
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) June 16, 2024
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SC raps DDA over felling of trees in Delhi ridge area, proposes massive plantation
New Delhi, Jun 24: Observing that brazen acts of tree felling in the national capital cannot be brushed aside lightly, the Supreme Court on Monday sought a "clear" statement from the vice chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) about whether trees in the ridge area were cut on the orders of the lieutenant governor without its permission.
A vacation bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said it proposes to hold a detailed enquiry into the acts of the DDA which resulted in destruction of several valuable trees and consequentially degradation of the environment.
The apex court said it very shocking that the trees were cut despite knowing that it cannot be done without the permission of the top court.
"Such brazen acts in the capital city cannot be lightly brushed aside by this court. If the authorities are not performing their statutory and constitutional duties of protecting the environment, the court has to give a clear and loud signal to all authorities that the environment cannot be damaged in such a fashion," the bench said.
"We direct the vice chairman to state before the court about whether any official record is available regarding the site visit of the Lieutenant Governor on February 3 and on what transpired on the visit of the LG. We need a clear statement of facts from the vice chairman, because if what is indicated in the emails is correct, then the felling of the trees was on the directions by the LG. We expect the DDA to come clean on this aspect," the top court said while issuing contempt notices to the DDA officers concerned.
The top court said it proposes to issue directions for a massive tree plantation drive in the entire national capital territory of Delhi and asked the DDA and Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist it in the matter.
The matter will now be heard on June 26.
The apex court had earlier issued a notice of criminal contempt against DDA vice chairman Subhasish Panda for allowing large-scale felling of trees in the southern Ridge's Satbari area to construct a road from Chhattarpur to South Asian University.
It had expressed displeasure over a "misleading" affidavit filed by the vice chairman and presenting "wrong facts" before the court. It also directed planting of 100 new trees for each tree felled by the DDA.
