Daijiworld Media Network – Thane

Thane, Mar 11: A corporator from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) staged an unusual protest against the ongoing water shortage in Thane by taking a bath inside the premises of the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters on Wednesday.

Corporator Abhijit Pawar alleged that the faulty water distribution system in the city has severely disrupted supply, leaving many households without water for days.

According to civic data, Thane city requires around 621 million litres of water daily, but the actual supply currently stands at about 550 million litres, resulting in a significant shortfall and widespread scarcity across several areas.

Authorities have reportedly been implementing weekly water cuts in recent days. Over the past two days, residents of Kalwa have faced acute shortages, and on Wednesday many housing societies reported receiving no water at all, triggering anger among residents.

In protest, Abhijit Pawar arrived at the municipal headquarters around 1.30 pm. Filling a bucket from a tap in the compound, he took a bath in the porch area of the building to highlight the crisis.

Reacting to the protest, Pawar said the water distribution mechanism was defective and alleged that staff responsible for releasing water were acting in a biased manner.

“The system distributing water is faulty. The personnel assigned to release water show partiality. When officials are contacted, they say they will look into it tomorrow. Since there was no water in my house today, I had no choice but to come here and take a bath,” he said.

He warned that if the water crisis is not resolved soon, he and others would escalate the protest. “If the situation continues, we will go and take a bath at the houses of officials,” he said.

Meanwhile, Manoj Pradhan also criticised the functioning of the Thane civic body during the protest.

Pradhan said that the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which was formed after Thane Municipal Corporation, had successfully developed its own dam, but Thane had failed to do so.

He claimed that when Jitendra Awhad and former water resources minister Padamsinh Patil were in office, approval for a dam project had been secured, but the ruling authorities failed to construct it.

“If a corporator has to come to the municipal headquarters to bathe because there is no water in his house, it is a black day for the Thane Municipal Corporation,” Pradhan said.