Delhi hospitals face imminent water crisis amid Covid-19 surge

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has told the Supreme Court that a critical shortage is being faced in the water being supplied from Punjab and Haryana. The Delhi Jal Board has told the court that Delhi will struggle for water in the coming days if the water supply does not improve.

The DJB said it may have to cut down the water being provided to hospitals in Delhi due to the water shortage from Punjab and Haryana. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) has agreed to hear the DJB's plea on Thursday. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice Chairman Raghav Chadha on May 1 had said depleting water level in the Yamuna river is leading to a shortage of drinking water in several parts of Delhi and may also affect hospitals in the city in the coming days.

He urged Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to release more raw water into the Yamuna so that sufficient drinking water is available for the national capital. The water level at Wazirabad pond has dipped to 667.20 feet from the normal level of 674.5 feet as Haryana has been releasing less raw water into the river, Chadha said.

The water from the Wazirabad pond is drawn for treatment at Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal treatment plants. Drinking water supply has been hit in parts of Central Delhi, North Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi due to decreasing water levels in the river, the DJB had said.

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