Water crisis spills onto streets, BJP stages protest against AAP govt

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, June 16

With the water supply crisis deepening in the city, the BJP on Sunday staged a series of ‘matka phod’ protests at 14 different locations against the AAP-led Delhi Government. These protests, where earthen pots were broken to highlight the water supply shortage, saw the participation of BJP MPs, MLAs, councillors and the party’s state chief, Virendra Sachdeva.

“We have always maintained that the water shortage in Delhi is not due to natural causes but is a result of the mismanagement and negligence of the AAP government,” said Sachdeva. “Kejriwal is solely responsible for taking the Jal Board from a profit of Rs 600 crore to a loss of Rs 73,000 crore,” he added.

Manoj Tiwari, North East Delhi MP, while protesting at Durgapuri Chowk in his constituency, added, “Under Arvind Kejriwal, corruption has taken new forms in Delhi. The Jal Board has always been the biggest centre of corruption under the Kejriwal government, but whenever BJP MLAs raised this issue in the Assembly, they were thrown out.”

West Delhi MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat said, “This morning, we exposed that the main reason for water leakage is the negligence of the Dwarka Jal Board officials. Water is being wasted, and the people of Delhi are suffering because of it.”

“In Delhi, water theft is rampant, and instead of controlling it, AAP leaders keep blaming the Haryana Government. Haryana supplies more than enough water to Delhi, but the real issue here is mismanagement,” said Yogender Chandolia, North West Delhi MP.

New Delhi MP Bansuri Swaraj said, “The water shortage in Delhi is an artificial crisis created by the AAP government. In a decade of rule, the AAP has done nothing to improve the infrastructure of the Jal Board, resulting in 54 per cent waste and theft.”

Accusing the Kejriwal government of colluding with tanker mafias, resulting in a severe water crisis, BJP leaders demanded the resignation of Water Minister Atishi.

Chhatarpur DJB office vandalised

BJP leaders and workers were accused of vandalising the Chhatarpur office of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Sunday. Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi termed the incident a “conspiracy” against the government and shared videos showing individuals breaking windows by hurling stones and earthen pots.

Atishi demanded an FIR against former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who was allegedly present during the incident. “It is clearly visible in the video that Bidhuri was present at the time of vandalism. The video shows that BJP workers are openly indulging in hooliganism,” she said. Delhi BJP vice-president Yogita Singh said, “It’s shocking to see that Atishi and Bharadwaj are calling parched demonstrators goondas.” She added, “The entire South Delhi is parched. During a demonstration, people grew restless and threw a matka, leading to the breaking of a glass.” TNS