Amid a severe water crisis in the national capital, residents of several Delhi areas have been left struggling, their ordeal exacerbated by relentless summer heat that shows no signs of abating. As more Delhiites turn towards water tankers for relief, the capital's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena are caught in a war of words over the alleged operations of "tanker mafia" in Delhi.
Delhi water minister Atishi has claimed that the number of water tankers deployed by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has been lowered without her knowledge or approval, alleging that this could have benefited illegal private tankers. She has requested L-G Saxena to look into possible collusion between the CEO of DJB and the chief secretary, and the tanker mafia, the Times of India reported.
Atishi, according to the Times of India report, has suggested suspending these officers during the investigation to prevent any interference. She has also requested the L-G to assign police to monitor the Munak Canal in Delhi to prevent private tankers from illegally taking water. Additionally, she urged the chief secretary to deploy more district and subdivisional magistrates to check for leaks in water pipelines.
Meanwhile, the L-G has accused the DJB under the AAP of never approaching police for help despite allegedly knowing about the presence of tanker mafia in the capital, NDTV reported. The L-G has also described as a "lie" Atishi's claim that Haryana wasn't releasing Delhi's fair share of water from the Munak canal.
As of Thursday, following instructions from the L-G, the Delhi Police have started patrols along the Munak Canal to prevent theft by alleged tanker mafia. Meanwhile, ToI reported, Atishi conducted an inspection of the pipeline network supplying water to Delhi as efforts continue to ease the Capital's water crisis.
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BJP Says AAP Govt Failed To Prevent Waste Of Water In Delhi
Lashing out at the AAP government, the Delhi BJP has accused it of mismanaging the water crisis in the national capital and misleading the public about the issue.
At a media conference, Delhi BJP secretary and New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said the water shortage had led to "people being exploited by the tanker mafia". She accused Minister Atishi of protecting the "tanker mafia instead of taking action against them".
"Atishi says that even if the tanker mafia is stopped, not much water would be saved. This is very unfortunate because people facing water shortage are being fleeced by the tanker mafia," she said, as quoted by PTI.
"I want to ask the AAP government and Atishi how long will they continue to come up with excuses and mislead people. They should come out of their air-conditioned press conference rooms and see the plight of the people," Swaraj said.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said "perhaps the AAP is getting a commission on every water tanker". "That is why, they are blaming others instead of taking action," he added, as quoted by ANI.
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