A political war has erupted in Delhi over a water crisis. Recently, it was revealed that Delhi has the worst water quality after it failed in all the 19 parameters set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The Kejriwal government in Delhi refuted the results claiming that there was a ‘bias’ in sample-testing.
Now, a person on Twitter with the username @Kannadanammamma has made a series of tweets that claim to reveal the deteriorating quality of water in the national capital. He claimed that he lives in the West Delhi area of Janakpuri. According to him, it is only since 2015 that the quality of water deteriorated.
The person claimed that the quality of water worsened particularly when he moved to Janakpuri BF Block and started noticing that on some days, the ‘DJB line’ would be delivered water mixed with sewer water. He says that it became a routine to stop the motor and empty the tank when such water was delivered, request the landlord to pump water from the bore-well after the tank had been cleaned, use alum and tablets to clean the sediments and then wait for Delhi officials to arrive after a complaint had been registered.
7. Complain to @DelhiJalBoard
8. Wait for them to arrive
9. Start from 1 againAfter that I mobilised few of my neighbours , and requested everyone to lodge complaint on 1916 together.
On the Third time they responded
The following was the complaint
5/n pic.twitter.com/D5UdDxEWp1— Proudkannadiga : (@Kannadanammamma) November 20, 2019
The twitter user says that after many days of tweeting, calling and even sending direct messages on the social media platform, finally one day in September last year some DJB official visited the area to unearth the problem. The person then says that the officials spent several hours that day to find the reasons for the sewer water mixing.
‘The outer linings of the sewer lines are weak and hence, they allow the sewer water to seep through the ground,” He says before adding, ‘The connecting sewer pipes to the main sewer line from residences are old and mostly made up of clay (of the old kind) and are susceptible to damage easily. These pipes are old and need to be replaced, failing which the sewer water both from the pipes and the drain leaks’.
The user further asserts that as a consequence, people who live nearest to such areas are most affected and the degree of contamination decreases as one goes farther from the area. The ‘temporary solution’ to the problem that the worker provided and the issue continues to trouble residents to this day. According to him, this is because the old sewer pipes need to be changed but the top officials of the Delhi Jal Board aren’t allocating the necessary funds required for the job.
14. But this wont happen as the engineers and top bosses in the @DelhiJalBoard won’t allocate funds to existing lines but only interested in new lines ! This is not my view but the view of the DJB workmen
15. Hence even aftee 18 months ghe problem remains as it is.18/n
— Proudkannadiga : (@Kannadanammamma) November 20, 2019
@Kannadanammamma squarely blamed the Arvind Kejriwal-led government for the mess and says that the Chief Minister of Delhi prioritizes appeasement politics over addressing the concerns of the middle class. He also claims that he once received a call from the Chief Minister’s office but the person appeared least bothered with his concerns. On another occasion, his residence was visited by a supervisor from the Delhi Jal Board and his wife was told that the pipes were damaged and the problem would continue until they were replaced. This apparently happened 18 months after he initially began his pursuit of clean water.
The person also blames the BJP for not being able to provide proof of contamination and appeared disgruntled with the Congress party as well for not taking up the cause of the affected people.
