Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to the Centre to ensure water supply
Highlights
- Arvind Kejriwal praises Army, Centre for taking control of Munak canal
- Canal closure due to Jat protests led to fears over Delhi's water supply
- Kejriwal trying to assess how soon Delhi's water supply can be restored
Less than an hour after tweeting that Delhi had completely run out of water, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared on Monday that the Army had taken over a key Haryana canal that supplies water to the capital and had been attacked by Jat protesters fighting for quota.
Fearing a water emergency, the Kejriwal government had moved Supreme Court, which today rebuked the government for "coming to the court" instead of talking to Haryana and resolving the crisis.
Schools and government offices are shut today over fears of a severe crisis as Jat protests in neighbouring Haryana hit operations at the Munak Canal. At around 4 am on Monday, the Army took control of the canal after removing protesters squatting at the site.
The Army has taken over Haryana's Munak canal that supplies water to the national capital (Agence France-Presse photo)
Haryana has told the Supreme Court that Munak canal and other water supplying sources are under the army's control now and water will be released today.
Mr Kejriwal began the morning with an appeal to the Centre.
In later updates, the Chief Minister was upbeat that a solution had emerged.
Jat protests for reservation escalated to violence, arson and vandalism over the weekend in many parts of Haryana. Ministers' homes, railway stations, malls and shops were vandalized or torched, buses were damaged, road and train traffic has been badly hit and essential supplies have been held up.