Thousands of hapless residents of Thane, adjacent to Mumbai, will face water cut for up to 60 hours each week
Highlights
- No water for up to 60 hours each week in Mumbai suburb of Thane
- Some residents forced to travel 10 kilometres by train to fetch water
- Thane residents upset as water tanker operators increase their prices
As the Bombay High Court hears a petition against lakhs of litres of water being used to prepare cricket pitches for the Indian Premier League, not many kilometres away in Thane, 30-year-old Pratibha Patil travels 10 km by train to fetch two cans of water.
And things are set to get worse. With large parts of the state reeling under severe drought, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has announced that it will disconnect water supply to Thane, adjacent to Mumbai, for up to 60 hours each week.
"There's hardly any water. We travel by train to fill water and have to leave children at home all by themselves. They end up missing school because of this sometimes," said Ms Patil who lives in Diva in Thane.
Another resident said, "We hardly get water for 3-4 days a week and even that is unreliable. Some of us depend on water tankers and some just store."
The Bombay High Court yesterday upbraided Maharashtra's cricket association or MCA for the "criminal wastage of water" to prepare grounds for the IPL, the world's richest cricket tournament which begins tomorrow.
It is expected to decide today on whether 19 IPL matches to be played in Maharashtra should be shifted out of the state in view of the water shortage. The court yesterday suggested moving the matches out to states which have water to spare.
The MCA argues that it pays for that water.
So do thousands of hapless residents of Thane, who are counting drops. "If gold is expensive we have the option of not buying. But with water there is no option," said another resident of Diva.
"Areas like Kalwa, Diva are the worst hit because there is the shutdown for 60 hours by the MIDC," said Sandeep Malwi of the Thane Municipal Corporation. The corporation too has been forced to cut back supply by 40 per cent and since then those who operate tankers have increased their prices.
Ironically, Thane is known as a city of lakes. There are 30 lakes and 500 borewells, but the municipality is flailing as it confronts the massive water crisis.