Delhi Water Minister Atishi said all of Delhi’s water comes from neighbouring states, alleging that the BJP government of Haryana has withheld 100 MGD or more than 46 crore litres of water from the city’s share.
This is day four of her ‘Jal Satyagraha’ and she insisted that she will not stop until Haryana releases Delhi’s share of water.
In a video message, she said that 100 MGD water is used by more than 28 lakh people in a day.
Atishi further said that doctors had come for her check-up on Sunday and told that her Blood Pressure has dropped, while sugar levels are also low, Ketone levels are on a rise, and her weight has also reduced.
Doctors have advised that such a spike in the ketone levels is not good for health and could cause long term damage to the body, she said further.
However, she asserted that, “My indefinite hunger strike will continue until the Haryana government releases the water which was due to the 28 lakh people of the city.”
According to the Lok Nayak Hospital’s medical team that came for Atishi’s check-up, the minister was asked to take hospital admission, however, she denied.
They observed general weakness and palpitation, according to the progress record of the patient.
The AAP minister, who began her indefinite fast on June 21, has been continuously pressing for Delhi’s water shortage and demanding that Haryana release more water, claiming that the state is not releasing national capital’s full share, both from river Yamuna at the Wazirabad barrage and also at the Munak canal’s Bawana contact point.
Delhi gets water supply from Yamuna and Munak, as the city does not have its own water source, the minister had said.
Atishi had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue seeking his intervention to get more water released for Delhi from Haryana.
On the second day of her fast, she had alleged that some people were sent to disrupt her Jal Satyagrah, but she had asserted that she is not scared of such things and will continue her indefinite fast until Delhi’s water demand is met and Haryana releases 100 MGD more water.
Meanwhile, the city has been reeling under water crisis since the recent past, while Delhiites were also thrashed by the heat wave conditions. Residents in several areas were worst hit, especially those who depend on tankers for the supply of the natural resource.
Atishi had earlier informed that the Delhi government took many important steps to make water available to those areas where shortage had hit hard including rationing of water supply, invoking fines on wastage, banning use of potable water supply for construction work, and also creating control rooms for monitoring the situation regularly, and providing water tankers to those affected.