Pani Satyagraha: On the second day of Atishi’s hunger strike amid water crisis in Delhi
New Delhi: Water Minister Atishi’s indefinite hunger strike on the issue of water crisis that has been going on for the last few days amid the scorching heat in Delhi continues for the second day. Atishi Singh issued a video message saying that her fast will continue until the Haryana government provides water to Delhi.
Atishi said, ‘As you know, today is the second day of my fast. There is a serious water crisis in Delhi. In this scorching heat, when there was a need for more water, the city is facing a shortage of water. Delhi gets water from neighboring states. For the last several days, Haryana has been releasing less water for Delhi. I tried every possible way but when the Haryana government was not ready to provide water through any means, I had no option but to sit on a fast.
Atishi said that there is still a water shortage today. Yesterday, 110 MGD less water came throughout the day. I will continue my fast until the Haryana government gives water to Delhi. I will not eat anything until 28 lakh people of Delhi get water.
She said that it gets 1,005 MGD water through rivers and canals from neighbouring states, out of which Haryana provides 613 MGD water. She said that amid the scorching heat in Delhi, Haryana has been providing only 513 MGD water for a few weeks.
Atishi has started an indefinite fast from yesterday demanding Haryana to release more Yamuna water for Delhi. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has expressed hope in a message from Tihar Jail that her ‘penance’ will be successful. Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal read the message of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, in which he expressed hope that Atishi’s ‘penance’ will be successful.
Kejriwal said in his message sent from jail, “It is our culture to give water to the thirsty. Delhi gets water from the neighbouring states. We expected help from the neighbouring states in such a scorching heat. But, Haryana reduced Delhi’s share of water.” Chief Minister Kejriwal targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana and said, “There are governments of different parties in both the states, but is this the time to do politics on water?”
