Water supplies have been partially restored in the Indian capital, Delhi, after repairs began on a key canal which supplies much of the city.

The army took control of the Munak canal in neighbouring Haryana state on Monday after Jat community protesters, angry at caste job quotas, seized it.

Delhi water minister Kapil Mishra said the "crisis was still not over" and urged people to use water carefully.

The city's schools, which were closed because of the crisis, have reopened.

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Sixteen million people live in Delhi, and around three-fifths of the city's water is supplied by the Munak canal, which runs through Haryana.

Mishra tweeted on Tuesday morning that "some water has been released" from the canal. This had led to the restoration of partial supplies in north and central Delhi, he said.

He said more than 70 water tankers from these areas had been moved to the western part of the city, where partial supplies would be "hopefully" restored by Tuesday evening.

Residents fill their empty containers with water from a municipal tanker in New Delhi, India, February 22, 2016. Photo: Reuters

"The supply will be limited till the time the Munak [canal] is totally repaired. The crisis is not yet over. People should use water carefully," he said.

The army took control of parts of the canal on Monday morning, but repairs are expected to take time. Eighteen people have been killed and hundreds hurt in three days of riots.

Protesters went on the rampage despite a curfew and the deployment of the army, which is reported to have opened fire on them, in the districts of Rohtak and Jhajjar.