As reported in TOI by Sukhada Tatke on 16 December 2009
The BMC may have decided to get tough with defaulters, but it can’t ignore the fact that over 20% of the city’s water supply is lost due to leakage and pilferage. In the backdrop of the water crisis, the civic body is now cracking the whip on illegal water connections that are mainly set up in slums. For the slumdwellers in the eastern suburb of Mankhurd, which holds the record for the maximum number of FIRs and complaints against pilferage, this is the only way to get water.
Across Anna Bhau Sathe Nagar in Mankhurd, hundreds of women queued up outside their homes to fill a few buckets of water that will keep them going for the day. What’s surprising though, is that many aren’t aware that the connection is illegal, say social workers.
Residents have paid hefty amounts to the water “dalaals” or agents for their connection. “Each of us has paid Rs 5,000 to avail of these connections. Despite that, we have to struggle to get clean water. The pipeline runs along with the sewer passageway, and often, it enters the sewage gutter,” said a resident. Laxmi Waghmare. “Recently, we collectively paid Rs 25,000 to dig holes in the ground, so we can draw water from there.”
In December alone, the BMC filed eight FIRs against the residents at the nearby Shivaji Nagar police station. Another four FIRs for theft of water by fixing booster pumps in the vicinity were registered with the Deonar police station. (Mankhurd falls under both precincts.)
For the slum dwellers this is the only way they can get water. “We have paid money, but we get only 15 minutes of supply every day. Even if we are able to fill five vessels, we can survive the day,” said 45-year old resident Prema Kamble. With the BMC tightening its grip over illegal connections, the pipelines have been hidden lest they be seized. Simpreet Singh of the National Alliance of People’s Movement blames the water mafia for the pilferage. “At election time, promises are made that slums will get water, but nothing comes out of it,” said Singh.
