Delhi L-G writes to CM, flags miserable hygiene at Wazirabad water treatment plant

New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) In a fresh tussle between Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the former on Saturday wrote to the CM flagging the miserable hygiene and sanitary conditions at the Wazirabad water treatment plant (WTP) that supplies drinking water to large parts of the national capital.

The move came after the L-G visited the facility and expressed his concern after seeing the worsening condition of the plant.

In his letter, Saxena also flagged gross inaction on the part of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in cleaning the pond reservoir behind the Wazirabad barrage, which supplies water to Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs.

"The plant itself is marred by rusted and trash-ridden reservoirs, corroded pipelines, silt covered equipment and power guzzling water pumps. On the other hand, the 500 metre x 500 metre x 4.26 metre pondage area behind the Wazirabad barrage, from where the WTP picks up water for treatment and supply to the city, is choked with silt, which in turn reduces its capacity of holding about 250 million gallons of water by as much as 90 per cent as informed by the DJB officials at the time of inspection," Saxena said in the letter.

"Despite a desilting contract being in place since 2013, no desiltation took place, resulting in the depth of the pond reducing from 4.26 metre to a mere 0.42 metre during the last eight years. The pond had a capacity to hold 250 million gallons of water, but it has now gotten reduced due to siltation by 93 per cent and can now hold only 16 million gallons of water," the letter read.

Saxena also said that such negligence in something as basic as ensuring water supply to the residents of Delhi is inexcusable. It would result in numerous water shortage days in different areas of the capital that are supplied water by the Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs, the letter said.

"Even during the days preceding Holi, water supply in much of Delhi was affected due to low levels of water at the Wazirabad barrage. Even as an official press release by DJB blamed low level of water in the Yamuna for this, it would have been in the fitness of things to look at the glaring shortcoming at DJB's own end and dwell into, as to why something as basic as desilting of the pondage area was not carried out by the DJB during the last eight years," Saxena said in the letter.