Haryana restricted water supply after Atishi went on hunger strike, says Delhi minister.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi's health minister

Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Haryana administration has repeatedly lied and is lowering Delhi's share of water.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, an AAP politician and Delhi minister, alleged on Sunday that the BJP administration in Haryana has further decreased water supplies, even after Delhi Minister Atishi launched her indefinite hunger strike seeking Delhi's due share of water from the adjacent state.

Bharadwaj claimed that the Haryana BJP administration is always lying. "They're reducing water..."After Atishi sat in protest, Haryana lowered at least 17 MGD (million gallons per day) more water...so now Haryana is providing 117 MGD less," Bharadwaj told ANI.

The minister made a jab at the BJP, saying, "A place that talks about one nation, one election, one team, the national capital is being deprived of water by the BJP government in Haryana."

Meanwhile, Atishi's indefinite hunger strike in Delhi's Bhogal, near Jangpura, reached its third day on Sunday. The minister stated that Delhi is experiencing a severe water problem since the national capital lacks its own water supply and must rely on water from nearby states.

"Delhi's total water supply is 1005 MGD. Haryana accounts for 613 MGD (million gallons per day), however it has decreased over the previous three weeks. They are not providing water to Delhi," Atishi said in a video message posted on her social networking account X (previously Twitter).

Atishi went on to say that Delhi's water needs is 1,005 million gallons per day (MGD), with 613 MGD coming from nearby Haryana.

She said that for the past three weeks, Haryana had cut water supply to Delhi, delivering just 513 MGD. "1 MGD of water can serve 28,500 people so, if Haryana is sending 1000 MGD less water to Delhi, this is ultimately affecting around 28 lakh people," explained Atishi.

The minister said that there is adequate water in the HathniKund Barrage, but "the gate through which water is released for Delhi has been closed, and water is not being released from there."

Despite the water crisis in Delhi, residents continued to form enormous lines at water tanks to satisfy their daily needs. Tankers delivered water to residents of Geeta community and Chilla Gaon in Mayur Vihar.

Via ANI Reports

Leopard Seen in This Delhi Neighbourhood; Traps Installed; Residents Warned

New Delhi: An official from the forest department reported on Saturday that a leopard had been sighted in the Sainik Farm area of Delhi. He said that two trap cages had been set up to catch the big cat.

Two teams from the forest department (Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary) have been deployed, according to Subodh Kumar, a beat officer.

"A call regarding a leopard seen at night was received by us. We searched at nine in the morning with the assistance of the local police, and we found the animal close to a farmhouse," Kumar said.

He continued, "It's a fully grown leopard weighing about 80 to 90 kg."

A police official stated that the forest department has erected two trap cages and ordered people not to congregate close to them.

The leopard was spotted idling close to a farmhouse in two of the social media videos that have gone viral. Before the leopard leapt off a wall and fled into the jungle, a policeman can be seen running in one of the videos.

According to an official, Delhi Police and the forest department have sent at least 40 officers to the area.

Delhi: After briefly entering the severe category on Thursday, the air quality is extremely poor.

Even though forecasts indicated no significant change in meteorological conditions over the weekend, Delhi's air quality improved to the very poor category on Friday morning after briefly entering the severe zone on Thursday. During the day, wind speeds were predicted to reach five to six km/h, and the quality of the air was expected to stay extremely low. During the day, five to six km/h winds are expected in the Capital, and the extremely poor air quality is expected to persist.

At noon on Friday, the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was 378 (very poor). On Thursday, the air quality index was 398 (very poor) at 4 p.m., and by 7 p.m., it had deteriorated to 401 (severe).

On Friday, the minimum temperature of 13.3°C was three degrees higher than average. It was Thursday, 12.6°C. It was expected that the wind would continue to be easterly on Friday and then shift to the northwest on Saturday. By Sunday, the minimum temperature was predicted to fall to 11°C. The high will remain at about 25°C until Sunday.

In November, Delhi experienced nine days with extreme air quality, with the AQI exceeding 400. Additionally, it noted nine more days with an AQI between 390 and 400 that was close to being severe. 18 near-severe or severe air days were reported in the Capital in November, the most since 13 such days were reported in November 2021 and 11 in November 2016.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) reported on Thursday that Delhi experienced an average wind speed of four km/h in November, which is comparatively low. There were extended periods of calm winds. Ten kilometres per hour on average is an effective wind speed for dispersing pollutants.

November saw far fewer paddy farm fires in Punjab and Haryana than it had in the previous three years, according to CAQM. It claimed that extremely unfavourable weather and climatic conditions greatly increased Delhi's PM2.5 load. "This year's Deepawali festival fell during the height of the paddy harvesting season in Punjab and Haryana, exacerbating the air pollution..."

It stated that, compared to 49,922 last year, Punjab recorded 36,663 farm fires through November 30. With 2,303 fires reported this year, Haryana reported 3,661 last year.

In November, Delhi's 24-hour average AQI was 373. It was 376 in November 2021 and 321 in November of last year. According to CAQM, the year was cleaner than prior years when the average AQI for the entire year was examined.