The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will launch a month-long agitation on Friday to demand better water supply for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, a senior party leader said on Thursday, reported the PTI.
Addressing a press conference, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve said that the city requires 240 MLD (million litres per day) of water but gets only 140 MLD.
“The civic body says it provides water once every four days, but the minimum gap between two supplies is eight days, and it even extends to 12 days at times,” he said, according to the PTI.
The city gets water only 25-26 times a year, but the water tax is collected for the entire year, he claimed.
“We will launch a month-long agitation tomorrow (Friday). Our leaders will also review the pipeline work from Jayakwadi dam to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city,” he said, as per the PTI.
Danve said they will start a signature campaign and an online petition to press for their demand for better water supply to the city.
“An exhibition of photographs concerning water scarcity will also be held in different parts of the city. The agitation will end with a rally of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray,” Ambadas Danve said, the news agency reported.
Meanwhile, earlier, the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday held protests outside the ward offices of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Mumbai alleging water shortage in the city.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party`s protests came a day after tanker operators withdrew their strike on Monday following after the BMC invoked the Disaster Management Act to requisition private water tankers and wells a day before.
According to the PTI, party MLA Mahesh Sawant along with several workers staged protests in Dadar area of Mumbai.
“Everyday, there are complaints of water shortage in the city,” he claimed, as per the PTI.
The Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) went on indefinite strike on April 10 against a notice issued by the BMC to owners of private wells that supply water tankers to the city.
The civic body directed owners of wells to obtain a licence from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) first.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) said even as the strike was called off, the water woes persist in the city.
The party workers also protested the proposed imposition of a user fee for solid waste management in the city.
(with PTI inputs)
