The chief minister said the government is working to find solutions.
New Delhi:
Expressing her anguish over the condition of water being supplied to the residents of the national capital, Aam Aadmi Party MP Swati Maliwal on Saturday filled a bottle with polluted water and poured it outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.
After surveying the homes of Dwarka residents and evaluating the water quality being supplied, AAP MP Swati Maliwal reported that dirty, black, foul-smelling water was being supplied to their houses. In response, she opened a tap at one of the homes, collected the water in a bottle, and threw it outside the residence of the Delhi Chief Minister.
“The people of Sagarpur, Dwarka had called me and the situation there is very bad… I went to a house and black water was being supplied there. I filled that black water in a bottle and brought that water here, at the Chief Minister’s residence. Since 2015, we have been hearing that next year everything will be fine… That black water which I have brought – have they no shame, will Delhi drink this?” Ms Maliwal asked.
Ms Maliwal said that if the condition of the supply of water does not improve in the area, she will come back with a foul-smelling tanker of water.
Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal arrives at Delhi CM Atishi’s residence, carrying polluted water from the Dwarka region pic.twitter.com/Da4fkEFkFA
— IANS (@ians_india) November 2, 2024
“I warned the Chief Minister – this was just a sample. If within fifteen days she does not fix the water supply of the entire Delhi, I will bring a whole tanker full of such water. I am leaving this water for her. She can bathe with this water, drink this water or purify her sins… Chhath Puja is coming. Today was Govardhan Puja, yesterday was Diwali and this is the condition of Delhi… Who can drink this water and live? Who can stay alive after drinking this water? The Chief Minister is also the Water Minister. Is her job just to hold ten press conferences every day?” she asked.
Ms Maliwal criticised Dwarka MLA Vinay Mishra, pointing out that despite his position as Vice President of the Delhi Jal Board, residents in the Dwarka area are forced to drink contaminated water.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of playing “dirty politics” which she claimed is the real cause behind both air and water pollution in the city.
She assured the public that under the leadership of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government is actively working to resolve the situation.
“The pollution levels in Delhi are increasing. Not only is air pollution rising, but pollution in the Yamuna River has also worsened over the past few days, as evidenced by the formation of toxic foam at Kalindi Kunj. Today, the people of Delhi want to know the reason behind this, and I tell them, the real reason is the dirty politics of the BJP. Everyone is aware that stubble burning is a major contributor to rising pollution levels in Delhi during winter,” she said.
“The AAP government in Punjab has significantly reduced stubble burning over the past two years. According to the Centre’s own statistics, incidents of stubble burning have been halved since the AAP took charge in Punjab. In contrast, if you look at Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, stubble burning has actually increased. In Haryana, farm fires have risen by 23%, and in Uttar Pradesh, they have surged by 70%,” she added.
Promising action to combat the rising pollution levels, Ms Atishi said, “We are continuously working to find solutions under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal. For the past two years, we have been defoaming the Yamuna, and we will begin this process again.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
