'No water shortage in Delhi': DJB

New Delhi, Apr 17 (UNI) The Delhi Jal Board today denied media reports of a shortage of water in many areas of Delhi due to inadequate supply to the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants.

Refuting reports, in some sections of the media, of a fall in level of the Yamuna river which, the reports said, had affected supply to the 90 MGD Chandrawal plant and the 120 MGD Wazirabad plant, DJB Superindendent engineer M K Lamba said,''there has been no fall in the level of the Yamuna which presently has a water level of 674.40 ft. If anything, the water level in the Yamuna is only rising. In any case, optimum production at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants requires the Yamuna level to be 672.50 ft (not 674.50 as claimed in the media reports).'' ''So where is the question of the water supply being affected in parts of Central, South and North Delhi, as claimed in some media reports,''Mr Lamba said.

He admitted, though, that production at the two water treatment plants had been slightly hit for a while but that was due to the DJB lifting water from the Yamuna for its Bhagirathi Plant rather than due to Haryana's inability to supply water to the river.

''However, after I wrote a letter to the Chief Engineer of the DJB asking him to desist from lifting water from the Yamuna for the Bhagirathi plant, the situation was back to normal and remains so,'' Mr Lamba said.

Media reports today claimed that fall in the water level in the Yamuna to 673.90 ft had affected water production at the Chandrawal and Wazirabad plants, thus leading to a water crisis in parts of Central, South and North Delhi.

UNI AR SHB HT1807