New Delhi: A water crisis in the national capital will take up to two weeks to fix, authorities warned Tuesday as taps ran dry, days after protesters sabotaged a canal to demand better treatment for their caste.
Jat caste groups called off their protests on Monday after the government in the northern state of Haryana accepted their demands following days of riots, arson and looting that saw thousands of troops deployed.
New Delhi's water board was battling to restore full supplies to the city of 17 million people which relies heavily on the canal running through neighbouring Haryana.
Water trucks fanned out across the teeming city, with many households without a regular water supply four days after the canal was badly damaged.
Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra tweeted that tap water was being restored in parts of north, central and Old Delhi on Monday evening.
But with just four of the city's nine water treatment plants operating, rationing of supplies to many areas was continuing.
"We are hoping to restore partial services in the next two to three days and 100 percent supply within next 15 days," said senior water board official Neeraj Semwal.
"North, west and south Delhi districts were severely affected by the water shortage with thousands of households not getting regular water supplies."
India sent troops to secure the canal after protesters, demanding a quota for their Jat caste in public service jobs and higher education, seized it on Saturday and diverted the water flow away from the capital.
Although schools and many businesses reopened Tuesday as supplies were partially restored, many were still suffering after the water board said it had been forced to limit supplies.
Retired journalist K. Jagannadha Rao said he and his neighbours scrambled to fill as many buckets and drums as they could after waiting 24 hours for a tanker to arrive.
"We have been having a lot of problems with the piped supply for the last three days. There are 110 flats in our complex and everyone has been facing problems," the 73-year-old told AFP.
