With Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal blaming the release of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana for the rise in water level of the Yamuna, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said that it is unethical to do politics on natural calamities.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Union Urban and Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi, Khattar said the water level in the rivers has increased due to heavy rains and the rapid flow of rainwater from hilly areas.

Responding to a question regarding Yamuna water coming to Delhi, Khattar said there was one lakh cusecs of water in the Yamuna River on the first day, but on the very next day, it suddenly increased to 3.70 lakh cusecs.

“As far as the issue of the release of water is concerned, we have informed Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that Hathnikund is a barrage and not a dam. Water flow is controlled in dams. In barrage, however, the water can only be regulated in a small quantity. The capacity of the barrage is one lakh cusecs and it is difficult to stop the water above this level,” he said.

The CM said the excessive flow of water has also adversely affected Yamunanagar, Karnal etc and now the same flow is entering Delhi.

Khattar, however, said the water level in other rivers has also decreased because of which the increased water levels in Karnal and Kurukshetra are gradually declining. He said the flow of water is high in Sonipat, Delhi, Faridabad and Palwal and there is a possibility that the level will reduce in the coming 48 hours.

Taking a jibe at Delhi’s Chief Minister, Khattar said Kejriwal blames Haryana whenever Delhi is in trouble. “Be it a pollution issue, water issue or any other, when Arvind Kejriwal fails to find any solution, he starts playing the blame game. Doing politics even on natural calamities is totally unethical,” he added.

The CM alleged the Delhi government is creating hurdles in implementation of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) projects from Sarai Kale Khan to Panipat, and Sarai Kale Khan to Shahzadpur.

He said on this the Supreme Court has also reprimanded the Delhi government and the next hearing has been fixed on July 24. Similarly, the difficulty faced regarding the RRTS project has also been discussed.

The CM said the state government has given a suggestion that if Delhi does not agree then the line from Sarai Kale Khan to Shahzadpur should be started from Aero City so that the line can be started in the part of Haryana. He said the state government will soon provide about one lakh houses to eligible families.