India's capital in water crisis after supplies cut

Terra Daily via AFP: Large parts of New Delhi were struggling with acute water shortages on Friday after a neighbouring state cut its supplies at the peak of summer, officials said. The sprawling Indian capital, with a population of 16 million sweltering in 43 degree C (109.4 F) summer heat, relies on four neighbouring states for its water -- Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand.

Haryana, the biggest supplier, cut its flow to the city on Thursday and about three million people have suffered shortages or been completely cut off, according to the Delhi Jal Board, a government agency responsible for water supply.

Some of the capital's smartest districts are among the affected areas, and the crisis reflects growing water stresses in the country of 1.2 billion people. "Suddenly, Haryana is refusing to release water to Delhi," a top Delhi Jal Board official told AFP, requesting anonymity. "We are struggling at all levels. Every minute we are registering complaints of water shortage. This crisis has left us in a mess."...

A spout used to supply water to the many water-channels that ran through the Mughal gardens at Shalimar Bagh. It is made of red sandstone and is so positioned as to empty its contents into a larger tank. Most of the elaborate system was destroyed or crumbled away as it fell into disuse. Shot by Tarunpant, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license