Indore (Madhya Pradesh): 48 hours and two massive protests broke out in Indore over severe water shortage. As the residents and opposition leaders of the Swachh City took to streets complaining about inconsistent water supply across several wards amid soaring temperature, Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav termed it as a mere 'nautanki by the Congress'!
Several videos are also circulating on social media showing troubled residents trying to fill as many buckets as possible from the tanker. Feeling helpless, residents and Congress leaders took out long rallies under scorching temperatures breaching 42°C.
The scenario has raised several questions on Indore, ‘the cleanest city’ and ‘the metro city,’ being unable to fulfil a basic necessity - clean, fit water.
Mayor terms it ‘drama’
However, in a recent interview with Vistaar News, Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav slammed the protests calling them “Nautanki by Congress councillors.”
While speaking to the media, Mayor Bhargav said, “Nautanki ka paryay hai Congress ke neta…aur Indore me jo log nautanki kar kar kr pradarshan kar rahe hain…Sabse zyada nautanki apne-apne ward me pani milne ke baad bhi agar koi kar raha hai to wo Congress ke parshad hain.”
“(Congress leaders are synonymous with ‘Drama’..…and the people staging protests in Indore are indulging in the same nautanki. Even after water is being supplied in their respective wards, if anyone is doing the most drama over it, it is the Congress councillors.)”
Recent protests
Rajwada protest: Congress workers and local residents protested at Rajwada on Tuesday against the water shortage in Indore. They demanded regular water supply and the mayor’s resignation. People from all 85 wards joined the protest and accused the BJP-led Indore Municipal Corporation of failing to provide proper drinking water.
The protesters marched to the IMC office, raised slogans and broke empty earthen pots to show their anger over irregular water supply.
Palda square protest: Sunday also saw several protests in different parts of the city. Congress councillor Kunal Solanki led a major protest at Palda Square along with residents of Wards 75 and 64 over the ongoing water crisis in Indore.
Protesters accused the IMC of failing to provide water to citizens while using water cannon tanks to disperse demonstrators.
Solanki also said that IMC has no water to provide to the citizens, but it has ‘dozens of water cannon tanks’ ready to shoo away protesting people.
Bhagirathpura incident back to headlines
MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari claimed contaminated water supplied by the IMC caused 36 deaths in Bhagirathpura. Congress leaders also said many families are spending a lot of money on water tankers, and women are facing the most trouble because of the water crisis.
