Delhi Water Minister Atishi began her indefinite hunger strike in south Delhi's Bhogal on Friday to get more water from Haryana, in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.
Sunita Kejriwal read out a message from the chief minister, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail, in which he expressed hope that Atishi's 'tapasya' would be successful. The chief minister said he was immensely pained by seeing on TV the plight of the people facing water shortage amid the ongoing intense heatwave.
"It's our culture to provide water to the thirsty. Delhi gets water from neighbouring states. We hoped support of neighbouring states in such intense heat. But, Haryana reduced Delhi's water share,” he said. "Although there are governments of different parties in the two states but is this time for politics over water," he said, referring to the BJP that is in power in Haryana.
Earlier, Atishi, accompanied by Sunita Kejriwal, AAP MP Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and other leaders paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat before heading to Bhogal.
In the morning, the minister said she would begin her indefinite hunger strike in Bhogal as, despite all efforts, the Haryana government was not releasing the full share of Delhi's water.
"I will start 'Pani Satyagraha' from today... I will start an indefinite fast at Bhogal, Jangpura from 12 'o' clock until the people of Delhi get their rightful share of water from Haryana," she said on X earlier in the day.
The minister has claimed that Haryana for the last two weeks was releasing 100 million gallons per day less water to Delhi against its share of 613 MGD, as a result, 28 lakh people in Delhi were affected. Delhi is facing an unprecedented heatwave as a result the water demand has increased.
