Amidst an ongoing water crisis gripping the national capital, tensions escalated on Sunday as BJP workers vandalized the office of the Delhi Jal Board in the Chhatarpur area. The incident has sparked accusations of a deliberate conspiracy by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri, while condemning the vandalism, attributed the act to the public’s frustration over the severe water shortage. “People can do anything when they are angry. I am grateful to the BJP workers who controlled the people. It is the government’s and people’s property,” Bidhuri said, as quoted by ANI. He added that damaging public property serves no purpose and appealed for restraint.
Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, sharing a video of the vandalized Jal Board office on Twitter, questioned the motives behind the water crisis. “Who is breaking the water pipelines at various places? Whose conspiracy is this? देखिए भाजपा के पटके पहने नेता और भाजपा नेता ज़िंदाबाद लगाते कार्यकर्ता, दिल्ली जल बोर्ड के दफ़्तर में सरकारी संपत्ति को तोड़ते हुए। जगह जगह पानी की पाईपलाइन कौन तुड़वा रहा है ? किसका षड्यंत्र है ? pic.twitter.com/ShZWR7ADJi”, he tweeted.
The AAP, through its spokesperson Atishi, has alleged that unknown individuals are deliberately sabotaging water pipelines to exacerbate the crisis. “In such a situation where we are short of water, there is a conspiracy to break water pipelines, troubling Delhites even more,” Atishi told PTI. She claimed that Jal Board teams have been patrolling water pipelines and discovered a leak in the main pipeline of South Delhi at Sonia Vihar. “When our repair teams reached the spot, they discovered that big bolts had been cut and removed from the pipeline, indicating a conspiracy.” Atishi has also written to the Delhi Police Commissioner, urging for increased security around water pipelines. “मैंने दिल्ली पुलिस कमिश्नर को पत्र लिख कर आग्रह किया है कि दिल्ली के मेन वाटर पाइपलाइन नेटवर्क को पुलिस द्वारा सुरक्षा दी जाये। https://t.co/ktVOzu943y pic.twitter.com/u4P7b1P7f2”, she tweeted.
Echoing these concerns, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed to the deliberate nature of the pipeline leaks. “Yesterday the nuts and bolts of the pipeline were found cut in South Delhi. Who cut them?” he questioned.
On the other side of the spectrum, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj organized a protest at the Delhi Jal Board office in RK Puram, accusing the AAP party of fabricating the water crisis. Swaraj alleged that the AAP government, despite being warned by the IMD about severe heat in March, failed to take proactive measures. She claimed that Haryana is supplying sufficient water but that a significant portion is being wasted due to the AAP’s neglect of maintenance over the past decade. “However, 40 percent of the water is getting wasted as Delhi government did not carried-out maintenance work in last 10 years,” Swaraj stated.
Adding to the political heat, BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat, along with other party workers, held a ‘Matka Phod’ (break earthen pots) protest in Najafgarh, further emphasizing the party’s stance against the AAP government’s handling of the water crisis.
As the blame game intensifies, the residents of Delhi continue to grapple with the harsh realities of the water shortage, facing disruptions to their daily lives and highlighting the urgency for a swift and effective solution.
