Delhi on brink of drinking water crisis as 3 plants shut; supply to be cut

The national capital is staring at a drinking water shortage as the Delhi government decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants due to the rising level of the Yamuna.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with "acute shortage".

"Due to an increase in the Yamuna water level, many water treatment plants had to be closed. I visited the Wazirabad plant on the banks of the Yamuna. We will start it as soon as the situation turns to normalcy," he tweeted.

In an earlier tweet, Kejriwal announced the closure of the Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants due to the rising Yamuna level.

"The water treatment plants at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla are being shut due to the rising Yamuna water level.

"Due to this, there will be a problem of water supply in some areas. These plants will start functioning as soon as the Yamuna water recedes," he earlier said in a tweet in Hindi.

The chief minister said the water supply may be affected in parts of the city by the shutting down of treatment plants.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority meeting on the flood situation chaired by LG VK Saxena also discussed the issue and decided for rationalising water supply in the city in light of the closing down of the treatment plants.

After the meeting, Kejriwal told the reporters, "There is going to be an acute shortage of water. The water production from the three plants has been reduced by 25 per cent. Water rationing will have to be done and people could face a shortage of water for the next one or two days."

The Yamuna swelled to a staggering 208.62 metres at 1 pm on Thursday, inundating nearby streets and public and private infrastructure and causing immense hardships to the people.

The water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 208-metre mark Wednesday night and rose to 208.48 metres by 8 am on Thursday.

It is expected to rise further, according to the Central Water Commission, which has termed it an "extreme situation".