New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Taps in some parts of Delhi went dry Wednesday morning as two of the main treatment plants were shut due to high levels of ammonia in the water. The affected areas are expected to get water by evening as Delhi Jal Board (DJB) restored the plants.
‘There is no crisis as such. We have managed to complete the restoration and the water supply should be adequate towards the evening,’ DJB spokesperson Sanjam Chima told IANS.
The DJB had shut down the plants to avoid the supply of polluted water containing high levels of ammonia and chromium.
The ammonia level rose to 1.3 ppm Tuesday evening – a 1.28 ppm rise from the normal 0.02 ppm. The source of ammonia has been routed to be coming from Haryana, according to the DJB.
‘In government flats, we are dependent on DJB’s supply of water. And in case it was shutting the plants, it should have informed the people before,’ said Preeti Chandra, a resident of Dev Nagar off Karol Bagh in central Delhi.
‘Everything – from the household to our daily needs – was stalled because of the water crisis,’ she added.
Private colonies that are dependent on water supply through boring plants were in a better position.
‘It was slightly better for us as we have a private, registered boring plant for our locality. We could get the supply for a few minutes in the morning,’ said Sangeeta Dewan, a school teacher from Model Town in north Delhi.
A large swathe of city areas running through Karol Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, the Cantonment, Shakti Nagar, parts of Rohini, and many other localities was affected, officials said.
‘We are not sure about the specific cause, but reasons could include industrial and domestic waste into the Panipat drain that is one of the prime sources of water for this plant,’ Chima said.
The two plants on an average supply 210 million gallons of water per day, making up for a third of Delhi’s demand for water.
‘In case chemicals were traced, the DJB should have informed the people before. At least we could have stored water for the morning,’ said Ashok Agrawal, a resident of Shalimar Bagh in north Delhi.
