NEW DELHI: Water minister Atishi commenced an indefinite hunger strike, dubbed 'Paani Satyagraha', on Friday to demand Delhi's right to water. The same day, Delhi Jal Board reported a water production of 888 million gallons per day (MGD), the season's lowest.
"As water minister, I made every possible effort to secure Delhi's rightful share of water, but Haryana's BJP govt didn't comply.
In this regard, I also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, requesting him to secure Delhi's rightful share of water," the minister said. She added that instead of getting relief, for two days now, Haryana govt had withheld 120MGD of Delhi's share of water. "That is why I had to sit on an indefinite hunger strike," she said.
The minister pointed out that Delhi did not have its own source of water. "All the water in Delhi comes from neighbouring states. Delhi gets 1,005MGD of water. This water goes to Delhi's water treatment plants and from there, it reaches people's homes through pipelines. Of this 1,005MGD water, 613MGD comes from Haryana. One million gallons of water is adequate for 28,500 people. That means when Haryana govt stops 100MGD of water for Delhiites, water supply to more than 28 lakh people of Delhi is stopped. This is the reason why there is a water crisis in different parts of Delhi today," claimed Atishi.
The protest is being held on a narrow street opposite the Shiv temple in Bhogal. The minister will be present at the tent intermittently. She will otherwise be resting in a separate hall in a dharmshala nearby. Earlier in the day, the minister went to Rajghat and then proceeded for the protest site at Bhogal. On the stage, she offered flowers in front of Mahatma Gandhi's photograph before sitting down for the Paani Satyagraha around noon.
Sunita Kejriwal, wife of CM Arvind Kejriwal, joined Atishi at the protest and read out a message from her husband expressing support for Atishi's cause. "When I see on TV from inside the jail how people are suffering due to the water shortage, it pains me. I hope Atishi will be successful in her protest and the people of Delhi get water," said Sunita, reading the message of the jailed chief minister.
According to party functionaries, the minister will stay at the protest site until the water crisis is resolved. "She will be staying here, sleeping here and the official work will also be done from there. The satyagraha will go on until the water production of the city improves," said a govt official.
Other high-ranking AAP members also stood alongside her on the stage. They included Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and several MLAs.
After her speech, Atishi shifted to the temporary arrangements made for her to rest and would sit in protest again in the evening. Sanjay Singh said that doctors would monitor the protesting minister's health during the time she took nothing except water.
The locals in Jangpura were discomfited by the traffic congestion caused by the protest with numerous cars parked on the road near the site. Ambika Sachdeva, a resident of Jangpura B block, said, "We are getting dirty water and that also only once a day. We are facing problems with water supply for many days."
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