Mumbai:
One person has died after the police lathi-charged hundreds of peopleprotesting against water cuts in Mumbai. Doctors say the protestor whodied suffered minor injuries in the lathi-charge, and was rushed tohospital, where he died of a heart attack.
The protests were ledby Congress leader Narayan Rane's son, Nitesh Rane; he was arrestedalong with 23 others, but has been released on bail.
The rally,consisting mainly of Rane's supporters, blocked the road outside thecity's Civic Headquarters, opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.The police claims that the crowd was 5000-people strong and was tryingto force their way into the Headquarters when the police intervened.
Currently,Mumbai is dealing with 15 per cent water cuts, which were announcedafter a poor monsoon. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has notannounced any new cuts, but the Congress wants the current water cutsto be withdrawn.
Mumbai's Municipal Corporation is governed bythe Shiv Sena, which recently won the Mayor's election - this left theCongress embarrassed, and Thursday's water protests were organized inan attempt to recover some lost ground.
In a meeting withmunicipal officials before the lathi-charge, Nitish Rane demanded thatwater cuts be reduced from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. Sources saythe meeting was a cordial one; and that Rane was told that if watercuts were slashed, the coming summer would see a serious water crisis.