Atishi claims water crisis in Delhi, seeks urgent meeting with CM Gupta; BJP calls assertion 'fabricated falsehood'

New Delhi: Claiming a water crisis in the national capital, Leader of Opposition Atishi has written a letter to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta seeking immediate time to discuss the pressing issue.

Atishi in her letter claims that Delhiites, particularly women and children, are struggling as they are lining up in front of water tankers and purchasing bottled water due to disrupted supplies.

"Scenes of women standing in queues with buckets and children waiting with pots are becoming the new identity of Delhi," Atishi wrote, questioning whether this was the vision promised by the BJP to people of the city.

Criticizing the BJP-led Delhi government, the former chief minister said water supply is being cut off for 24 hours at a time while the administration remains silent.

"Despite the BJP's four-engine government at the Centre, with the LG, MCD and the CM's office, Delhi's citizens are still struggling for basic needs like drinking water," she added.

Warning of a looming crisis as temperatures continue to rise in the coming weeks, Atishi said, "If this is the condition in May, what will happen when the heat peaks? Does the government want to leave people at the mercy of God for water?"

Labeling the issue as more than an administrative failure, the former chief minister described it as a sign of "gross negligence" by the BJP government.

She urged Gupta to respect democratic norms and grant time to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to meet her and present the concerns of Delhi's residents.

The BJP, however, later rubbished the charges, calling them a "fabricated falsehood" and attributing the current situation to the previous AAP government's failures.

Asserting that there is no major water crisis in the city, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva credited the present government's Summer Action Plan for preventing any serious disruption.

"The Aam Aadmi Party leaders have one political narrative, a lie every day and under this narrative, Atishi has fabricated a falsehood regarding a severe water crisis in Delhi," he said in a statement.

Sachdeva said that despite peak summer heat, there is no widespread talk of a major water crisis in Delhi due to effective implementation of the Summer Action Plan, improved water distribution and GPS-enabled water tankers.

Delhi saw widespread complaints and protests around this time last year over water issues under the AAP government, but such reports are notably absent this year, he added.

"We are not claiming there is no water shortage, but there is no water crisis," Sachdeva clarified.

The BJP leader said the "root cause of the shortage is the failure of the Arvind Kejriwal government over the past ten years to increase water storage capacity and prevent theft and wastage".

"The BJP has taken steps to ensure the situation does not escalate," he added.

With the heatwave expected to worsen, the AAP has raised an alarm over what it calls a "man-made crisis" caused by poor governance and lack of planning.

The party has demanded swift and transparent action from the government to restore regular water supply and provide relief to people of Delhi.