Around 1,000 people from Shahapur, the largest taluka of Thane district, on Tuesday took out a morcha to Mantralaya, demanding that the taluka get its rightful share of water.
The protestors, who walked 100 kilometres to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, said while three dams in Shahapur cater to Mumbai, they are facing a shortage. The city gets a daily supply of 455 million litres of water each from the Vaitarna and Tansa dams in Shahapur, and 2,050 million litres from the Bhatsa dam.
“Shahapur can survive almost a year with the amount of water Mumbai consumes in a day,” said Santosh Shinde, a community social worker, who led the morcha. The Shahapur Gram Panchayat Samiti has estimated that the taluka with a population of four lakh needs 17.62 million litres of water daily.
“About 150 villages don’t get water. Some get water through tankers,” said Mr. Shinde.
“We have to dig the ground for water,” said Ramesh Damodar, a resident of Shahapur.
“Of the 131 schemes implemented to solve water scarcity, 87 have stopped. Moreover, the money earned from supplying water to Mumbai, goes to the Zilla Parishad, not Shahapur,” said Mr. Shinde.
The locals with the problem had approached officials in April 2012. “Promises were made and meetings held, but there was no outcome,” said Mr. Damodar.
The protesters also said that the taluka had a high unemployment rate. “The MIDC is not permitted to construct industries or chemical plants in Shahapur to prevent water pollution. Vast areas have been declared green zone so there can be no development activity there. Dam projects have stripped several farmers of their lands and rendered them jobless,” said Gautam Gode, another protester.
“We urge the BMC to work on the infrastructure development of Shahapur, with special attention to the adivasi villages of Kasara, Khardi and Sakadbav. A 15 per cent reservation for the locals in the municipal corporation should be granted,” said Mr. Shinde.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
