Preparing a 50-year plan to resolve water woes: Verma

The government is working on short-term measures and long-term plans to ensure water availability during summer, water minister Parvesh Verma said on Thursday, detailing plans to complete the upgrade of the water distribution system, minimize pipeline leakages and improve conservation measures.

- Paras Singh

After inspecting the Wazirabad barrage of the Yamuna and visiting the water treatment plant (WTP), Verma said the storage capacity of the barrage will be doubled over the next month and a half to ensure a smooth water supply in summer. "Until now, water management in Delhi was only in firefighter mode — wherever a problem arose, only a temporary solution was found. But now, the government is working on a 50-year long-term plan, which will completely upgrade the pipeline (to prevent) leakage, and water conservation and water distribution systems. A master plan is being made in a scientific way so that a situation like water crisis does not arise in the future," the minister said.

Barrage capacity

The Wazirabad barrage and its pond in north Delhi is the primary holding area for drinking water from the Yamuna, and pumps raw water to the Wazirabad, Okhla and Chandrawal WTPs, which cater to a quarter of the daily water requirement.