Residents of Mukeshnagar Society in Ahmedabad’s Odhav area, along with leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), staged a protest on Monday at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation office, alleging that sewage water has been mixing with drinking water in their locality for several months.
The protest was led by AAP youth leader and state chief spokesperson Dr Karan Barot and party leader Jaimin Desai, along with local residents and party workers. The protesters marched to the municipal office beating drums and raising slogans, and sought to submit a memorandum highlighting their grievances.
According to the protesters, they were initially stopped at the corporation gate and not allowed to enter the premises. Addressing the gathering, Dr Barot said that the BJP was in power at the municipal, state and central levels, yet residents in a major city like Ahmedabad were being supplied water mixed with sewage.
“People only want to submit a representation, but they are being stopped and not even allowed to present their grievances. Are we Pakistanis? We are people of Gujarat and we have the right to submit representations,” he said.
After discussions with officials, the protesters were later allowed to enter the office and submit their representation under the leadership of Dr Barot and Jaimin Desai.
While submitting the memorandum to municipal officials, Dr Barot said that residents in several Odhav societies had been forced to consume contaminated water for the past six months to one year.
“If the sewage-mixed dirty water that is reaching people’s homes is also drunk by the municipal corporation officials, then they will realise what kind of water people are being forced to drink,” he said.
He added that when officials assured that a water tanker would be sent the next day, it raised concerns about how residents would manage in the meantime.
“Does the corporation want people to keep drinking dirty water from this afternoon until tomorrow morning? People have submitted applications many times on this issue, yet the corporation has not listened to anyone,” he said.
The protesters demanded that residents should be provided clean drinking water comparable to bottled water supplied to officials.
Dr Barot also said that despite voting in large numbers for BJP leaders, residents were now facing difficulties due to the alleged supply of sewage-mixed water.