A water crisis in Delhi today prompted the state government to order the
closure of all schools tomorrow (Tuesday) and rationing of water.
Speaking about the incident, Chief
Minister Arvind kejriwal said: "Rationing of water will include all
sections barring Rashtrapati Bhavan, the residences of the Prime Minister and
the Chief Justice of India, defense installations, hospitals and the fire brigade."
He clarified that his residence and office would come under the water
rationing, and appealed to the people to conserve water.
The Supreme Court was approached by
the Delhi government on Sunday to seek a direction to the Centre to restore the
supply from the Munak Canal in Haryana. The canal supplies two-thirds of
Delhi's water but is currently under the siege of the agitators. The court
has agreed to hear the plea tomorrow.
Kejriwal said his government had been
asking the Haryana and central governments since Sunday to seek army help to
reopen the Munak Canal. He said that even if Haryana released water
immediately, it would take at least 24 hours more to restore the supply.
The examinations and admissions in
schools have been postponed. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said:
"It is feared that there will be no water tomorrow morning. The situation
will be assessed tomorrow and further decisions taken afterwards.”
The public agitation over the
shortage in water supply has led to public protests across various parts of the
city like Nangloi, Madhuban Chowk, Narela and Najafgarh. Vandalism on public
properties has also been reported. The protests have resulted in traffic jams
and blockage of various entry points to the capital from Haryana, as a result
of which more and more people are resorting to airways. The air fares have
become sky-high, with some airlines charging Rs 89,000 for a flight to Delhi
from Chandigarh.
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