RML, Lady Hardinge and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital facing water supply issues

New Delhi, Jun 18 (PTI) The government run RML, Lady Hardinge and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital are facing water supply issues since the underground water reservoirs are receiving less water from the Delhi Jal Board, NDMC member Kuljeet Singh Chahal said on Tuesday.

The national capital has been reeling under a severe water crisis for weeks now with little to no supply amid searing heatwave conditions, with the shortage being met by private water tankers.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has 27 underground water reservoirs and they get water from three water treatment plants through 18 inlets.

The NDMC normally gets 125 MLD water but the current supply is ranging from 70 to 80 MLD. In a normal situation, Wazirabad treatment plant supplies 60-70 MLD of water, Sonia Vihar 25 MLD and Chandrawal 35 MLD of water to the areas under the civic body.

Out of three water treatment plants, not a single drop of water is being provided by the Delhi Jal Board in the Wazirabad Plant due to which hospitals like RML and Lady Hardinge are suffering, Chahal alleged.

"There is severe shortage of water in relevant areas of Gole Market, Bengali Market, Tilak Marg, Parliament House, Supreme Court, High Court, judges’ bungalows, DIJ area, Hospital like RML, Kalawati and Lady Hardinge," he said.

Chahal said if the situation is not resolved, the AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospitals could also be affected.

"The Parliament Session will also be beginning later this month. We are making arrangements to ensure that there is no shortage of water during that time," he said.

The underground water reservoir, which receives water from Chandrawal treatment plant, caters to the President Estate, Chankayapuri, embassies, PM House, MP flats etc. Its capacity has reduced by 30 per cent.

The underground water reservoir, which receives water from Sonia Vihar treatment plant, caters to the areas of Jor Bagh, Bharti Nagar, Pandara Road, Khan Market, Kaka Nagar, Bapa Nagar etc but the crisis is not there.

Chahal said the NDMC is taking care of its residents by supplying water through water tankers etc. trying to attend as much complaints as possible but it is not adequate.

NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said they are deploying water tankers to mitigate the impact on residents and addressing complaints to the best of their ability, though demand continues to outstrip supply. The NDMC has 10 tankers and out of these, three are for JJ clusters. Each tanker has a capacity of 9000 litres each.

To assist the residents in major JJ clusters like Sanjay Camp and Vivekanand Camp, the NDMC has installed surface water tanks with capacities of 10,000 litres each, providing an additional means for residents to access water besides tankers and tap water, he said.

Chahal mentioned that despite repeated requests and payments for 18 flow meters, which are currently non-functional, the DJB is yet to replace them.

"This situation makes it challenging to accurately measure daily water supply to NDMC. Based on the latest updates from DJB, this disruption is expected to persist for at least one to two more days," he said.

The NDMC has appealed to people to save water and use it judiciously. PTI SLB AS AS