New Delhi Grapples With Water Crisis After Protests Damage Supply Canal

Millions of people in India’s capital city New Delhi will be without water for at least a few days, as authorities work to repair a major canal vandalized by violent protests in the neighboring state of Haryana.

Although the protests have all but ended and the army has regained control of the canal, it will take “three to four days” before the entire city’s water supply is restored, the head of New Delhi’s water board told the BBC.

The canal, which constitutes about 60% of the water used by the city’s 17 million residents, was damaged in the violent demonstrations that killed more than a dozen people and injured hundreds. Protesters had seized the channel on Saturday and diverted its flow away from Delhi, according to Agence France-Presse.

The city’s water supply has been reduced by about two-thirds and government officials are urging residents to ration.

The agitation by Haryana’s Jat community — demanding a fixed quota of government jobs — continues to dwindle after the state government accepted their demands on Monday.

[BBC, AFP]