Amid the water crisis in Delhi, the AAP government has taken cognizance of media's sting operation on the tanker mafia, exposing the corrupt water trade. Delhi Water Minister Atishi has said that she will be writing a letter to the Police Commissioner and will ask him to take action against the rampant tanker mafia.
As Delhi is reeling under water crisis, India Today's undercover team reached Sangam Vihar, where they met a tanker mafia operator named Ritesh.
Under the pretext of building a house, India Today's team placed a demand for water.
In response, Ritesh asked for the address and said how much water was needed. In the beginning, Ritesh quoted Rs 2100 but then reduced it to Rs 1500 per tanker. A tanker contains 12,000 litres of water. He also mentioned that the delivery would cost extra money, thus making a tanker worth Rs 3000.
After Ritesh, media met another operator named Mohan. The team recorded a tanker leaving on a hidden camera. Mohan said that he could provide a tanker with a capacity of 4500 litres, which is priced at Rs 2200.
He told media's team that the groundwater is dropping, and they are having difficulty filling the tankers. When asked how deep they have to drill to get water, Mohan said around 650 feet.
In Delhi, tanker mafias are violating several rules as they are extracting water from illegal borewells. India Today's team found such illegal tube wells in the Yamuna Khadar area of Wazirabad, Delhi, where tankers were being filled openly.
Source: India Today