Malad water crisis complaints over low pressure and dirty supply triggered a cross-party protest at a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ward office on Wednesday, September 9, with corporators demanding immediate action ahead of Ganeshotsav.
NCP corporator Ajit Rawrane staged a sit-in outside the BMC ward office while holding empty vessels to draw attention to complaints from residents in parts of Malad. Standing Committee member and corporator Tejinder Singh Tiwana backed the protest and called for elected representatives from different political parties to unite over the water-supply problem.
The issue was raised during a ward committee meeting, where corporators sought an immediate civic response to complaints of inadequate supply, low water pressure and poor water quality. A delegation was also expected to meet the deputy municipal commissioner for Zone 4 to discuss the situation.
According to the report, corporators alleged that local BMC officers were directing the matter to the hydraulic department instead of addressing the complaints at the ward level. The response angered Tiwana, who questioned the civic administration’s handling of a basic public service while elected representatives were protesting outside the ward office.
Following Tiwana’s intervention, corporators from different parties joined Rawrane’s protest. They raised slogans demanding adequate water supply for Malad residents and warned that the agitation would be intensified if the BMC failed to take immediate corrective measures.
The complaints have emerged just days before Ganeshotsav, increasing concern among residents and elected representatives about the reliability and quality of water supplied in affected areas during the festival period. The report did not specify the number of neighbourhoods or households affected, the duration of the disruption, or the BMC’s assessment of the cause of the low pressure and water-quality complaints.
The Malad protest came amid wider questions about Mumbai’s water-supply system raised in the BMC House. BJP corporator Anjali Samant questioned how garbage, including paan and gutkha sachets, was entering water pipelines and meters. She also called for greater use of tertiary-treated water for non-potable purposes.
Samant cited Navi Mumbai’s use of treated water for gardens and construction since 2010 while raising the case for reducing reliance on potable water for such uses. Her remarks widened the discussion from the immediate Malad complaints to water quality, pipeline maintenance and the allocation of treated water for non-drinking purposes.
The immediate next step is the proposed meeting between the corporators’ delegation and the deputy municipal commissioner for Zone 4. The protesting corporators have said the agitation will be intensified if corrective measures are not taken.
