Parvesh Verma accuses Punjab's AAP govt of creating water shortage in Delhi AAP hits back

New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Tuesday accused the Punjab government of indulging in a "conspiracy" to deprive the national capital of its due share of water, prompting a rebuttal from the AAP urging the BJP to "deliver on promises and not make excuses and not make excuses."
    Verma said that Delhi's supply has been continuously reduced in the past six days — first by 88 cusecs less on May 1, 119 cusecs on May 2, 71 cusecs on May 3, 55 cusecs on May 4, and then by 130 cusecs on May 5 — and termed this as a "premeditated move" on the part of AAP-led Punjab government.
    "Punjab, governed by AAP, has deliberately restricted water release from the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), which supplies Haryana — and through it, Delhi," Verma said in a statement.
    The statement further mentioned that Delhi gets around 980 cusecs of raw water daily from Haryana but has received 463 cusecs (249 million gallons per day) less water.
    The Water Minister urged the Central government and the BBMB to take urgent action.
    In a response, AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "Earlier, when the neighbouring state of Haryana used to stop our water supply, then the BJP members and LG VK Saxena used to say, 'the Delhi government does not know water management,' and that we are wasting water. Now, BJP is in control at the Centre, the Delhi government and the MCD; they should deliver on promises and not make excuses."
    Verma's statement comes amid a stand-off with Haryana over the distribution of water from the Bhakra dam. On Monday, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution stating that not even a single drop of water would be given from its share to the neighbouring state.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)