Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra today wrote to the Centre urging it to "persuade" Haryana to stop its industries from releasing untreated effluents, mainly ammonia, in Yamuna which has severely affected water supply in the national capital over the last three days.
In a letter to Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Mishra complained that the increased presence of pollutants in raw water received in Delhi from Haryana has become "quite frequent" and that the "main reason" was industries located in the neighbouring state.
"If the quantum of ammonia in raw water increases to 0.5 ppm (parts per million) and beyond, the operations of treatment of raw water has to be suspended as ammonia with the treating agent chlorine gives rise to Trihalomethane which is carcinogenic in nature," he said.
The level of ammonia rose to 2.6 ppm at 9.30 AM on January 20, Mishra mentioned in the letter. The rise had prompted the authorities to close the Wazirabad and Chandrawal treatment plants.
Water supply in New Delhi Municipal Corporation areas which includes the Lutyens' zone, North Delhi, North West Delhi, Central Delhi and parts of West and South Delhi have been severely affected due to the closures.
Mishra said that the areas which "illegally" release effluents adversely affecting the quality of Yamuna water are --- industrial waste discharge near Mandora village in Haryana, industrial pollutants in river course near Khojkipur, Panipat among others.
A delegation of officers from Delhi Jal Board was sent to Haryana on January 21 to meet senior officers there and apprise them about the condition and a separate quality control team was also sent for detecting the sources of pollution.
"It needs to be appreciated that the quality of water cannot be compromised in any situation and all steps, which may include harsh action against the polluting industries, needs to be taken by the state of Haryana," Mishra said.
