Meanwhile, the Indian army has regained control of a channel flying to Delhi with drinking water after the clashes in the state of Haryana, close to the capital.
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Residents and small businesses in Delhi’s northern district told CNN on Sunday that they had no piped-water supply since Saturday.
Delhi’s water board said it had been forced to limit supplies to the city, which receives little rain and has long struggled to provide enough water for its rapidly growing population.
The Indian authorities had ordered the closure of schools Monday to conserve water after the closure by rioters valves providing a channel in New Delhi 60% of its drinking water, according to Indian media.
But with just four of the city’s nine water treatment plants operating, rationing of supplies to many areas was continuing. But Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters that the supplies would take at least 24 hours to normalize after the damaged canal is repaired.
Jat community protesters demanding more government jobs seized the Munak canal, the city’s main water source.
The Haryana government on Monday announced full compensation for damage caused to private property as well as an ex-gratia payment of Rs10 lakh to the kin of the 19 killed in the Jat agitation for reservations. Officials expect it may take another three days before normal supplies return.
They said that instead, they are relying on groundwater withdrawn by submersible electric pumps, common in Delhi, or are buying packaged drinking-water jars.
“We never imagined we would have to face such problems”.
Just 240 million gallons was being produced after the attack compared to the usual 820 million gallons a day, it said.
Incidents of violence and arson continued at several places during the night even as prohibitory orders remained in place in many places including Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal and Panipat.
As soon as he reached Rohtak, the Chief Minister’s vehicle was gheraoed by angry people who raised slogans like “Haryana Police murdabad” to protest the state police’s alleged failure in controlling the violent situation.
The Jat minority is based largely in India’s Haryana state, which includes Delhi.
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Many Jats, who number more than 80 million across north India, are farmers whose livelihoods have suffered as families divide farms among their children. Commanders supervising Jat protests operations said 12 companies (about 1,200 personnel) of the CRPF and others drawn from the army and paramilitary have been posted for the canal’s security.
