English
New Delhi: The Ganga Canal has been closed for maintenance till November 5, raising concerns about water supply in Delhi and nearby areas. However, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Saturday said the water supply in the national capital will not be affected due to it. The Ganga Canal, which largely supplies water for drinking and irrigation purposes to several districts of western Uttar Pradesh, including Ghaziabad, was shut for maintenance on Friday.
DJB roughly supplies around 900-950 MGD (Million Gallons per Day) water in the national capital. According to DJB officials, apart from ground water, Delhi depends largely on the Yamuna river and partially on Ganga river for water supply. It also gets water from western Yamuna canal, they said.
A senior DJB official said there is no need to panic as only a small percentage of water comes to Delhi from Ganga Canal which can be balanced thorough supply from Yamuna river. “There will no disturbance or shortage in water supply in the city due to closure of the Ganga Canal. We have sufficient water in Yamuna so the shortage from Ganga Canal can be met through excess water from Yamuna. There is no need to worry,” the DJB official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. He said the maintenance of Ganga Canal is a routine exercise which is carried out every year.
According to officials of Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, the canal will be closed till November 5 and it might impact water supply in Delhi along with other districts of western UP. Water supply in 19 districts of UP, including Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Etah, Hathras and Firozabad, would be disrupted and farmers are likely to face a shortage, UP Irrigation Department officials said. They said during the period of maintenance, farmers may have to partially rely on tubewells and pumping sets to irrigate their fields.
(With inputs from PTI)
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