Cracks in canal in Haryana hit water supply in Delhi: Saurabh Bhardwaj

Cracks in the Carrier Lined Channel, a canal which carries water from Haryana to Delhi, have affected supply in the national capital which may impact around 30 lakh people, the city government said Wednesday.

Delhi Water Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said the cracks developed between Khubru and Kakroi near Sonepat in Haryana.

The matter is being pursued with the Haryana government and it will take 48 to 72 hours to repair the canal, he said, adding that though the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is rationing water, a large population in Delhi will be in inconvenience because of the peak summer season.

"Presently, there is a deficit of around 20 per cent in raw water supply from Haryana to Delhi. This may cause water scarcity problems to almost 30 lakh population in Delhi," Bhardwaj tweeted.

According to the Delhi Economic Survey, the city receives 612 MGD of raw water from Haryana and 253 MGD from Uttar Pradesh through the Upper Ganga Canal. The rest is drawn from ranney wells and tubewells installed across the city.

The water from Haryana is supplied through Delhi Sub Branch (213 MGD), Carrier Lined Channel (441 MGD ) and the Yamuna river (77.5 MGD).

The Carrier Lined Channel and Delhi Sub Branch supply raw water to seven water treatment plants at Bawana, Dwarka, Nangloi, Haiderpur, Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla.

The DJB, in a statement, said cracks in a section of CLC near Badvasni village have caused "significant damage", affecting operations at Haiderpur-1, Haiderpur-2, Bawana, Nangloi, and Dwarka water treatment plants.

Alternative arrangements have been made. As a result, the impact of the damaged Carrier Lined Channel has been limited to the Haiderpur water treatment plant alone.

Areas affected include central Delhi, south Delhi, New Delhi, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, embassies of different countries, and parts of north and west Delhi.

A team of senior officials from Delhi Jal Board has been rushed to the site on the direction of the board's vice-chairman Somnath Bharti, the statement said.

The DJB has also written to the Haryana Irrigation Department, urging them to treat the situation as an "emergency". Bharti has requested the Haryana government to take necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future, it said.