Many areas in Delhi are grappling with water shortage and Water Minister Atishi appealed to people to use water judiciously. The Delhi government on May 29 directed the Delhi Jal Board to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 for water wastage.
The fine will be imposed for using hoses to wash cars, overflowing water tanks and use of domestic water for construction and commercial purposes. Water supply in those areas where it was supplied twice a day has been reduced to once a day.
The Delhi government has also taken measures like running tube wells in double shifts and using water tankers to supply water in affected areas due to the shortage. A complete ban on the use of potable water at construction sites, whether it comes from tankers, pipelines or borewells was issued.
The capital is facing a water shortage due to unprecedented summer heat, with temperatures hovering around the 50 degree-Celsius mark in parts of the city. The water crisis has become too real to ignore in Delhi as people across areas are scrambling with empty buckets to water tankers, some even jumping the queue to get to the top of them to fill their vessel.
Deepak Srivastava, a resident of one of the affected areas in Chanakyapuri said, "We need water, otherwise we will die. Earlier, six to seven water tankers used to come, but now there is just one, exacerbating the crisis."
As soon as an NDMC tanker arrived, people, carrying pipes, rushed towards it and some climbed on its top to fill their buckets. In Vivekananda Colony in Chanakyapuri, children, men and women climbed atop the water tanker.