A section of people residing in urban poor settlements like slums and chawls on Tuesday protested against the acute water scarcity and demanded equal distribution of water across all economic classes in the city. With the help of local NGOs such as YUVA, Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti and Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao, they put forward the water-related problems to the civic body. According to a survey by YUVA, 64 per cent of the residents procure water from shared taps.
According to the survey, over 30 per cent of community residents depend on non-municipal sources such as private tankers and borewells for water. Around 41 per cent of the residents have to travel more than a kilometre to fetch water and 14 per cent of residents beg neighbours for water everyday. Forty-three per cent of residents said water was contaminated. Prakash Bhoir, who stays in one of the 29 tribal hamlets near Aarey colony, said he has to rely on borewells for water. “The BMC records have stated that our hamlets have been existing since 1861. Aren’t we entitled to get water supply?” Bhoir said. However, the hydraulic engineer of the BMC Deshpande said as per the state’s ruling, slums that have come up after 1995 are illegal.
Source : http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Protest-against-water-scarcity/580621/