Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said it is not good to play politics over issues concerning water, expressing confidence that Haryana won’t stop supplying Delhi its share of water.
“People in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi all are our own people. It is not good to play politics this way. Everybody should get water,” Kejriwal told reporters after meeting Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu at Rail Bhawan.
Asked if Delhi was prepared for a water crisis if Haryana stops supplying water to Delhi, Kejriwal confidently replied: “Haryana will not stop water supply.”
Haryana’s Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar on Thursday asked Kejriwal to construct a canal to get water from the Nangal dam, saying the state can’t provide water to the national capital as it has no other option left after Kejriwal opposed the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal project.
“Water is available in the Nangal dam for Haryana and Delhi, but we don’t have any resource to supply it and you (Kejriwal) opposed our only resource SYL canal in Punjab for your political gains. By doing this, you in fact stood against the interests of the people of Delhi,” Dhankar said in a letter to Kejriwal.
“Seeing your stand, Haryana will be unable to supply your share of water through its own canal as you have stood against the interests of the farmers and people of Haryana,” Dhankar said.
The Delhi government had termed Dhankar’s statement as an effort to draw public attention away from the real issues of Haryana.
“This letter has no value for us. It is just an attempt to divert the attention of the people of Haryana from their real issues,” Delhi’s Water Minister Kapil Mishra told IANS on Thursday.