Slum-dwellers celebrate new water connections after 8 years of struggle

Home to nearly 5,000 people, Siddharth Nagar did not have access to the city’s piped water supply. Residents had been buying water from shops, transporting water in containers from employers’ houses, and hiring private water tankers to fulfil their water needs

Mumbai: Three months ago, ‘Pipe Dream’, a documentary film featuring Jai Mati’s struggle to get a water connection for the 800 households of his informal settlement won a Special Jury award at the Charles Correa Foundation’s film festival.

Mati, along with the NGO Pani Haq Samiti, began doing the rounds of the BMC’s office from 2013 in a bid to get a legal water connection. “When we started this battle in 2013, there was a lot of documentation that was needed,” he said. “The process got easier in 2015, and we could manage with fewer documents. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

On Thursday evening, Mati’s efforts finally bore fruit, and Siddharth Nagar at Andheri West stood among the first 45 households to get water connections installed by the BMC. Coming as it did after eight long years of locking horns with bureaucrats and navigating a red-tape-smothered path, the overjoyed residents celebrated the occasion with dhols and flowers.

Home to nearly 5,000 people, Siddharth Nagar did not have access to the city’s piped water supply. Residents had been buying water from shops, transporting water in containers from employers’ houses, and hiring private water tankers to fulfil their water needs.

Mati, along with the NGO Pani Haq Samiti, began doing the rounds of the BMC’s office from 2013 in a bid to get a legal water connection. “When we started this battle in 2013, there was a lot of documentation that was needed,” he said. “The process got easier in 2015, and we could manage with fewer documents. We wanted to get water connections by sticking to the legalities and not going through agents.”

Mati, who keeps records of all the documents that were submitted to the BMC, said that after the civic body finally approved 19 connections (each connection provides water to five to six households) a few weeks ago, some files went missing once again. “But this time, we kept the pressure on, showed them all the duplicate copies, and some good officials from the BMC ensured that the water connections came through,” he said.

The BMC on Thursday installed nine connections and will install 10 more in the coming days. Sitaram Shelar, convener of the Pani Haq Samiti, said that the residents were thrilled. “They have fought a long battle,” he said.

Slahuddin Choudhary, a driver and resident of Siddharth Nagar, said he was overwhelmed with joy at getting piped water in his house. “Every Sunday, I would have to go out and buy drinking water at ₹8 per litre, and pay ₹150 for an autorickshaw to transport it home. I also had to spend ₹40 daily for 250 litres of water for non-drinking purposes. The water connection will not only save me ₹2500 to ₹3000 every month, but has also made me stress-free.”

Shelar said that what was most important was keeping the hopes of people alive through the eight years of struggle. “Some BMC officials have really helped, but it needs to be much better,” he said. “Water is a basic necessity. Every living being deserves free water and it should be given to all.”