Mumbai:
It's a story that has Mumbai outraged.
NDTV reported on Sunday on how the tanker mafia steals the city's water in collusion with municipal employees, and sells it back to the city at about 300 times the price.
For a city that's been dealing with a 15% daily water cut since November, that's the worst sort of betrayal. "Earlier I called the BMC a Big Mess Corporation. It is now a Big Mess Corruption," says Alyque Padamsee, a distinguished veteran of Mumbai's ad world.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed 100% water cuts rotating across the city once a week. That plan has not been sanctioned, but it shows how Mumbai is running on empty. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, had recently said Mumbai's water problem needs urgent attention. Now, when asked to comment on the NDTV expose, he said, "we will speak about it later."
Shraddha Jadhav, the city's Mayor, who is from the Shiva Sena, was more forthcoming. ''There are areas in Mumbai from where the tanker mafia operates. The BMC is trying its best to punish this mafia. They will be arrested if they have two, three complaints against them.''
But the tanker mafia doesn't work alone. As the NDTV report pointed out, it's the city's own officials who are its biggest enemies. The Mayor did not indicate any action against her own municipal workers. So once again, the buck is passed.
And Mumbai dreads the prospect of a long, dry summer.
NDTV reported on Sunday on how the tanker mafia steals the city's water in collusion with municipal employees, and sells it back to the city at about 300 times the price.
For a city that's been dealing with a 15% daily water cut since November, that's the worst sort of betrayal. "Earlier I called the BMC a Big Mess Corporation. It is now a Big Mess Corruption," says Alyque Padamsee, a distinguished veteran of Mumbai's ad world.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed 100% water cuts rotating across the city once a week. That plan has not been sanctioned, but it shows how Mumbai is running on empty. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, had recently said Mumbai's water problem needs urgent attention. Now, when asked to comment on the NDTV expose, he said, "we will speak about it later."
Shraddha Jadhav, the city's Mayor, who is from the Shiva Sena, was more forthcoming. ''There are areas in Mumbai from where the tanker mafia operates. The BMC is trying its best to punish this mafia. They will be arrested if they have two, three complaints against them.''
But the tanker mafia doesn't work alone. As the NDTV report pointed out, it's the city's own officials who are its biggest enemies. The Mayor did not indicate any action against her own municipal workers. So once again, the buck is passed.
And Mumbai dreads the prospect of a long, dry summer.
