India Races to Restore Delhi’s Water Supply After Protests

Indian authorities secured a canal that supplies 60% of New Delhi’s water, easing fears of a shortage in the capital after demonstrators damaged the canal during violent protests over government benefits.

The weekend protests by the Jat community left at least 12 people dead and exposed Delhi’s vulnerability to water shortages when the Munak canal, which runs through neighboring Haryana state, was cut.

Delhi’s 25 million inhabitants rely on a precarious system of supply. The city lacks adequate surface water, and its only river, the Yamuna, which provides 12% of water, is polluted. The rest of the supply comes from ground reserves and a canal in Uttar Pradesh state, The Wall Street Journal reports.

One of two streams that run from the Munak canal into Delhi was restored Monday, said deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The boundary wall of the second one was breached in several places by protesters and it may take up to 10 days to fix the damage, he added.“The Haryana government has deployed the army at the canal and things are under control now,” Mr. Sisodia said.

Schools were closed Monday as part of the state government’s plans to ration water. Some government offices also were shut due to a lack of water.

The Jat community, who are primarily farmers, were protesting because they want the government to recognize them as a “backward class,” a designation that would give them a leg up in government jobs. In recent days, protesters have set fire to a mall, railway station, police cars and government-run buses, as well as damaging the canal, in Haryana.

Thousands of security forces, including the army, were sent in over the weekend to quell the violence. On Monday, authorities in the state began lifting curfews in towns, while protesters gradually removed roadblocks.

The situation was improving in Rohtak district, which bore the brunt of attacks by the protesters in the Jat community, said police officer Saurabh Singh. Curfews ended in Hissar and Hansi towns as law and order were being restored after three days of violence. Thousands of stranded vehicles still clogged highways in the state, and train services were disrupted by protesters sitting on railroad tracks.

At least a dozen people had been killed by Indian security forces firing on protesters since Friday, state Home Secretary P. K. Das told reporters Sunday. Another 150 protesters had been injured in clashes in various parts of the state.

In an effort to correct historical injustices against lower-caste groups and end discrimination, India has an elaborate system of quotas. Critics say the affirmative-action arrangement, which has expanded to include more groups despite decades of social progress, is misused by politicians for electoral gains. The Jat community comprises nearly 29% of Haryana state’s 25 million people.