If the sweltering October heat was not agonising enough, residents of Mira Bhayandar are not spared the nuisance of water cuts even during the winter. An acute shortage of water in most parts of the twin-city is heating up the political arena in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) ahead of the civic elections to be held next year.
However, this time around it is not only the opposition parties including Shiv Sena, Congress and MNS, but the BJP rulers who are also up in arms over the issue. While the local Maharashtra Nav-Nirman Sena (MNS) unit led by Hemant Sawant and Sandip Rane courted arrest following their attempts to stage a blindfold agitation in the vicinity of MBMC’s overhead tanks in the twin-city, the Congress delegation led by senior corporator- Merlyn D’sa registered their protest by gifting empty pots to water supply officials.
Blaming the administration and the ruling BJP for mismanagement of water supply in the twin-city, the Shiv Sena staged an agitation by shouting anti BJP slogans and breaking empty earthen pots at MBMC’s community hall building in Bhayandar (west) on Monday. On the other hand the BJP which single-handedly ruled the civic body has threatened to launch a massive agitation on 21, October against the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government accusing their ministers of meting out step motherly treatment to the twin-city.
As against the requirement of over 225 MLD, the twin-city has an allotted supply of 211 MLD provided jointly by the MIDC (125 MLD) and Shahad Temghar- STEM (86 MLD) water supply authority. However the actual supply hovers around below 200 MLD as the civic administration still loses a huge quantity of potable water in transit on a daily basis owing to leakages, unaccounted supply and theft.
Tanker Mafia Mints Money
As taps run dry, the local populace is in a tizzy. However, the notorious water mafia has taken up the opportunity to exploit the situation by squeezing them to pay through their nose, that too without much guarantee on the quality and quantity of water. In demand are water supply tankers, especially the smaller versions which directly pump water to apartments from tanks fitted atop mini trucks with the help of electric motors and long pipes. Moreover, the credibility of their source of water is dubious.
