New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): A group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a protest against the AAP-led Delhi government and Minister Atishi on Saturday to highlight the water crisis in the capital.
BJP workers gathered near Atishi’s office in Kalkaji, carrying earthen pots on their heads which they later smashed on the ground.
In a similar protest, Congress workers held a ‘Matka Phod’ (break pitchers) protest in Delhi’s Krishna Nagar area and criticized both the AAP and BJP governments for the water scarcity in the national capital.
A Congress worker lamented the suffering of the public, accusing the governments of neglect and engaging in political blame games.
“The public is being cheated in the name of water. Poor people are suffering the most. The governments are playing the blame game. Why was water not arranged in advance? They were busy doing politics. The Congress party will hold a ‘matka phod’ protest in Delhi to wake up the deaf and dumb government. They have connived with tanker mafia,” a Congress worker said.’
He added, “The Congress has resolved that ‘matka’ will be broken in every corner of Delhi and the sleeping government will be awakened.”
Responding to Congress protest, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla criticized Congress for remaining silent during the elections while Delhi faced water shortages.
He blamed the AAP for mismanagement and alleged corruption in water distribution, accusing them of protecting water tanker mafias despite Supreme Court orders. “This water crisis did not start yesterday. It has been going on throughout the elections because summer had already begun. Because they were in an alliance with the AAP in Delhi and had shared seats, they did not raise the issue back then… Delhi is facing a water shortage today because in the last 10 years, AAP has done nothing but corruption… 50 per cent of water supplied to Delhi goes to waste…,” said Poonawalla.
“AAP has given protection to water tanker mafias… No enquiry is conducted against water-tanker mafias, even after the orders of the SC. This tells a lot about the association of AAP with the water mafias and the selective association between Congress and AAP…,” he added.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Atishi assured on Thursday that the Delhi government is actively working to minimize water wastage. She urged Delhi residents to conserve water amid rising temperatures and heatwaves exacerbating the crisis.
Earlier, the Supreme Court said that the issue of sharing Yamuna River water between states is complex and sensitive and this court does not have the expertise and left the matter to the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) to decide on Delhi’s demand for additional water amid an ongoing water crisis.
The Delhi Government, in a fresh affidavit, informed the apex court that the tanker mafia is operational on the Haryana side of the Yamuna River and the AAP government lacks jurisdiction to act against the same.
It is for Haryana to explain what steps it is taking to preserve the full supply of water to Delhi between the point of release and the point of receipt, as the affidavit mentioned. (ANI)
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