Delhi to Face Water Shortage till Nov 1 Amid Diwali Festivities, Check List of Affected Areas

New Delhi: Parts of the national capital are set to face a dry Diwali as the Delhi Jal Board has announced a water shortage till November 1 (Friday) due to high ammonia content in the Yamuna river. The water cut will hit several parts of east, northeast and south Delhi and areas under the New Delhi Municipal Council.

Issuing a statement, the Jal Board wrote on X, “Due to maintenance on the Upper Ganga Canal, Bhagirathi and Sonia Vihar WTPs are operating at 30% capacity, relying temporarily on the Yamuna. Water supply may be affected till November 1, 2024 in following areas. We regret the inconvenience.”

It further added, “The raw water source of Delhi's 110 MGD (million gallons per day) Bhagirathi Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and 140 MGD Sonia Vihar WTP is the Upper Ganga Canal, Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Due to scheduled annual maintenance across the Upper Ganga Canal by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department from October 12 to 31, the canal was closed from Haridwar on October 12 midnight.”

"During this closure period, the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department and the UP Jal Nigam carry out repair and maintenance. Subsequently, Ganga water supply to these WTPs has been stopped," it added.

Vinay Mishra, the Delhi Jal Board vice-president, raised concerns about the Yamuna's water quality, revealing that its ammonia content had surged to 0.9 parts per million (ppm) -- well above the safe threshold of 0.5 ppm for effective treatment.

This contamination has resulted in a 25-30 per cent reduction in water production, severely impacting supply to Delhi residents, he said.

The WTPs are now dependent on the Yamuna as an alternative source of raw water till October 31. But due to high ammonia content -- above 1.5 ppm (parts per million) -- in the raw water, it is difficult to treat the Yamuna's raw water, the Delhi Jal Board said.

"Therefore, production at Bhagirathi and Sonia Vihar has been curtailed up to 30 per cent. Further, the production would depend entirely upon the quality of raw water at the Yamuna and production from these plants shall vary accordingly," it added.

Affected Areas to face Water Cut in Delhi

In view of above, water supply in the following areas is likely to be affected till November 1 (Friday). The areas are East Delhi, North East Delhi, part of South Delhi and part of NDMC area, such as Gokulpuri, Sonia Vihar, Karawal Nagar, Babarpur, Tahirpur, Dilshad Gardan, Nandnagari, Shahdara, Laxmi Nagar, Geeta Colony, Mayur Vihar, Kondli, Dallupura, Yamuna Vihar, Karawal Nagar, Jaffrabad, Jhilmi, Mandawali, Laxmi Nagar, Shakarpur, Vivek Vihar, Karkardooma, Jagatpuri, Shalimar Park, Krishna Nagar, Patparganj, Preet Vihar, Vishvakarma park, Lalita park, Seelampur, Shastripark, Bhrampuri, Kailash Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan, Jai Vihar, Lajpat Nagar, Moolchand Hospital, Greater Kailash, Vasant Kunj, Devli, Ambedkar Nagar, Okhla, Kalkaji, Kalkaji Extn., Govindpuri, G.B. Pant polytechnic, Shyam Nagar Colony, Okhla Sabzi mandi, Amar Colony, Dakshin Puri, Panchsheel Park, Shahpur Jat, Kotla Mubarakpur, Sarita Vihar, Sidhartha Nagar, Apollo, G.K. North, Malviya Nagar, Deer Park, Gitanjali, Srinivaspuri, G.K. South, Chhatarpur, part of NDMC and their adjoining areas and adjoining areas.

The Jal Board has advised Delhi residents to store adequate quantities of water in advance, based on their requirements, and use water judiciously. Water tankers will be available on demand from the Jal Board's helpline or the central control room, it added.

For water tanker requirement contact-

Mandawali Water Emergency : 22727812,9810091769 • Loni Road Water Emergency : 22814518,22816023, Yamuna Vihar Water Emergency : 22817228, Jagriti SPS Water Emergency : 22374834, 22374237 Greater Kailash : 29234746, 29234747, Giri Nagar : 26473720, Vasant Kunj : 26132716, JalSadan : 29810935 ,29814106, Sarita Vihar /Okhla : 26388976