Delhi government ignoring drinking water issue: Modi

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the biggest problem of the national capital is that the state government has closed its eyes towards the drinking water issue.

Addressing a huge gathering here at Ramlila Maidan, Modi said: "Today the Delhi government is blind to the biggest problem. It is the drinking water problem".

"If you believe these people (government) then clean water reaches every household, but the reality is different," he said.

Modi said that the reality is that most number of water purifiers in the country are sold in Delhi.

He said that those who are unable to install these machines buy bottled drinking water for Rs 40-50 each. But those who can't afford even this, are compelled to drink dirty water supplied from the tap.

Taps in Delhi remain dry for most of the time and when water supply is available then people don't trust its purity, the Prime Minister said.

Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted in the matter taking reference to Modi's speech: "On November 16, the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), which comes under my ministry, had issued a ranking of water being supplied in the capitals of various states including Delhi, in which the national capital was at the bottom. The water being supplied here was found the worst. But the Delhi Chief Minister has rejected the report".

According to the BIS report, Mumbai topped the drinking water quality list, while Delhi came at the bottom. While all 10 samples collected from Mumbai were found to be pure, all the 11 samples collected from Delhi failed the test.IANS