Linah Baliga, TNN | Sep 19, 2011, 02.13AM IST
Times of India
2 water mafia men externed, relief for Borivli residents
MUMBAI: Two youths, Gangaram Kunchikar and Raja Bahadur Yadav, who belong to the water mafia, were externed by the MHB Colony police, Borivili (W).
The externment order was passed by Mahesh Patil, DCP Zone XI, on August 24. The duo will not be allowed to enter Mumbai and Thane region for two years. Patil said that the externment order will act as a deterrent for other water mafias in the city. “They have been externed for water as well as other thefts,” he added.
This is the first case of its kind and has come as a relief to New Link Road and Borivli’s IC Colony residents. They were harassed by the water mafia since 2009. The gang members would puncture the BMC main water line, make a two-inch hole and insert a pipe with multiple outlets that would run under the nullah and converge at the Ganpat Patil Nagar slum.
“The water mafia would collect money from slumdwellers who needed water. They would be charged Rs 10 for 20 litres of water and Rs 5 for filling small vessels,” said Harish Pandey, core committee member, New Link Road Residents’ Forum (NLRRF). This slum stretches from the New Link Road in Borivli to Dahisar and lies on land marked as Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ I). As per the documents gathered by Pandey through an RTI query, the number of structures in the slum was 410 in 1995, around 850 in 2,000 and proliferated to around 8,000 at present.
“The civic authorities could on no grounds offer them water. Even RTI documents of municipal commissioner stated that granting of water connections to these illegal structures would further contribute to the rampant growth of Ganpat Patil Nagar. That’s when the water mafia entered,” said Pandey. In 2009, the water thefts increased and NLRRF complained to the BMC of acute water shortage and contamination. “Several illegal connections were disconnected by the BMC. But new punctures were made into the pipeline for a fresh theft
. We filed another complaint in August and after discussions with the police, DCP (Zone XI), two people were nabbed,” he said.
Satish Narkar, assistant commissioner, R (north) ward said, the externment order would be a deterrent to the water mafia.
“It is good that stringent action is being taken. There may be many other people involved in the water mafia.”
“Water being an essential commodity in everyday life of each and every individual, safe and clean water is paramount to health and safety. Our crusade was with a vision to nab the culprits because mere complaints were not working as water pipes would be punctured again. We have already informed the BMC of the people externed,”said Pandey.
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