New Delhi, January 28: Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, met Election Commission (EC) officials on Tuesday, alleging that the BJP-led Haryana government is deliberately releasing alarming levels of ammonia into the Yamuna river, endangering Delhi's water supply. Following the meeting, Atishi told a press conference, "We presented our concerns to the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners. The ammonia levels in the Yamuna have risen to 7 ppm (parts per million), which exceeds the filtration capacity of Delhi's water treatment plants. The EC has told us that it will listen to Haryana's version before taking a decision that benefits the people of Delhi. We trust the EC for free-and-fair elections."

Mann called for immediate action, saying, "We have demanded additional water from the Munak canal to compensate for the toxic inflow into the Yamuna. The EC will also review last year's ammonia-level data. We are confident that it will rule in Delhi's favour." Atishi had written two letters to the EC seeking an immediate meeting with the officials of the poll panel -- one on Monday and another on Tuesday morning. Delhi's water crisis took a sharp political turn on Monday, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Kejriwal accusing the Haryana government of indulging in "biological warfare". BJP Wants To Kill Delhiites by Mixing Poison in Yamuna, Alleges Arvind Kejriwal; Saffron Party Threatens To Sue AAP Chief.

In a fiery post on X, he alleged, "Poison is being mixed into the Yamuna to make its water untreatable. If people in Delhi consume this water, many will die. This is nothing short of a mass murder." Atishi said Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini has acknowledged the presence of ammonia in the water. She also noted that Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Shilpa Shinde has confirmed the elevated ammonia levels in the Yamuna water. However, Shinde later dismissed the AAP leaders' claims as "factually incorrect" and "misleading", adding a layer of complexity to the issue. Delhi Jal Board Refutes AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Poison in Water’ Allegation; Explains Seasonal Ammonia Fluctuations in Yamuna.

Delhi, Punjab CMS Meet EC on Water Issue

The ammonia controversy has emerged as a critical point of contention ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls. Amid water shortages in parts of the capital due to a reduced treatment capacity at the DJB plants, the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continue to trade sharp accusations. With the EC set to examine data and hear arguments from both sides, the resolution to this crisis remains uncertain, even as political temperatures rise.