Water Crisis In Delhi: Vandalism At Jal Board Office, AAP And BJP Leaders Exchange Barbs

On Sunday (16 June), unidentified individuals vandalised the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) office in Chhatarpur, amid the severe water shortage in the national capital.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) released a video of the incident, alleging that the vandals were BJP leaders and workers. In the video, a man is seen wearing a BJP scarf.

“See how BJP workers are breaking the office of Delhi Jal Board while shouting slogans of ‘BJP Zindabad’,” AAP wrote on X.

“On one hand, the BJP government of Haryana is withholding Delhi's rightful share of water, while on the other hand, the BJP is damaging the property of the people of Delhi,” AAP added.

BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri responded by stating, “It is natural. The people can do anything when they are angry. I am grateful to the BJP workers who controlled those people... It is the government's and people's property. There is no benefit in damaging this property.”

Meanwhile, BJP MP Harsh Malhotra accused the AAP government of corruption and mismanagement, claiming, “Delhi government is receiving enough water for the public of Delhi. The shortage that we are facing today is because of their corruption, non-planning, and non-action.”

In response to the escalating crisis, Delhi Water Minister Atishi wrote to Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, requesting the deployment of personnel to protect major water pipelines from potential sabotage. She said a recent incident involved deliberate damage to a key pipeline in South Delhi, exacerbating the water shortage.

BJP MP from North East Delhi, Manoj Tiwari, who led a 'matka-phod' (earthen pot breaking) protest, said, "Every year water crisis happens... Who is Atishi cheating? These are lazy people, they neither have any work policy nor any intention, they just want to loot the treasury... I want to tell Atishi that there is a limit to lying... The people of Delhi will punish them," he said.

Echoing these sentiments, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva also blamed the crisis on water theft, tanker mafias, and neglected infrastructure.

BJP MP Kamaljeet Sehrawat and other party workers held a ‘Matka Phod’ protest in Delhi's Najafgarh.

She also inspected a water pipeline in Dwarka and reported significant water wastage due to broken pipes. "Private water tankers are costing them a lot of money and they are unable to avail government tankers... " Sehrawat said, urging the Delhi government to address these infrastructural issues.

Bansuri Swaraj, BJP MP from New Delhi, accused the AAP government of fabricating the crisis, saying, “Delhi has an ample amount of water, and Haryana is discharging more water than the agreement. However, the AAP government in its one-decade-long governance brought Delhi Jal Board into 7,300 crore of loss... They made no repairs in Delhi Jal Board's infrastructure and 40 per cent of water gets wasted or stolen by illegal tanker mafias, backed by the AAP government.”