News Politics National Congress protests Delhi's water, power crisis; hold top official hostage

Congress protests Delhi's water, power crisis; hold top official hostage

New Delhi: A Congress delegation led by its Delhi unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely Monday held Chief Secretary S.K. Srivastava hostage for half-an-hour at the Delhi Secretariat here over the acute power and water crisis

congress protests delhi s water power crisis hold top official hostage congress protests delhi s water power crisis hold top official hostage
New Delhi: A Congress delegation led by its Delhi unit chief Arvinder Singh Lovely Monday held Chief Secretary S.K. Srivastava hostage for half-an-hour at the Delhi Secretariat here over the acute power and water crisis in the national capital, according to official sources. The top official was later allowed to go after he gave a written assurance to improve the situation.

The Congress leaders, including all its eight elected legislators and senior party leaders, held Srivastava hostage in the conference room of the Delhi Secretariat and did not allow him to go to his fifth-floor office. The Delhi Secretariat is located in central Delhi.

According to the sources, it was at the intervention of other secretaries that the Congress leaders let Srivastava go and agreed to protest outside the government office premises.

The Congress leaders allowed Srivastava to leave after he gave a written assurance promising to take remedial measures within 24 hours.

Officials told IANS that the chief secretary in his letter assured that Delhi's power supply will be improved within 24 hours, but also noted that it will take close to 25 days to completely restore the power supply to normalcy.