Shaharbaat: Dry grass, false promises and citizens wandering for their right to water!
Due to complete water supply failure for the sixth consecutive Saturday and looting by tanker mafia, angry citizens have taken to the streets with pots and pans, launching intense protests against the municipal administration.
Written by Loksatta Team June 9, 2026 08:23 IST
Mira-Bhayandar city has been in a very bad situation for the past few days, with water being supplied on alternate days, forcing citizens to wander everywhere for water in the peak summer. Getting water for domestic use and drinking has become a major challenge for housewives here. Even on the days when water is supplied, the water pressure is extremely low, so water does not reach most floors.
To overcome this dire situation, many housing complexes and citizens have tried to rely on private tanker water. However, due to a huge increase in demand, the tanker mafia has become active, and tanker prices have skyrocketed. Moreover, the availability of tanker water is now limited, making the situation even more dire and worrying. While citizens are already troubled by rising temperatures, the continuous disruptions in the municipal water supply and lack of planning have added to the ordinary people's difficulties.
Significantly, this water scarcity in Mira-Bhayandar is not sudden. The root of this problem lies in the administration's delays and lack of foresight. In 2018, a new water scheme with a capacity of 75 million liters per day was launched for the city. At the inauguration, the then ruling party and administration made a huge fanfare. Citizens were led to expect that this new scheme would largely solve the city's water problem.
Also Read: Health department accelerates pre-monsoon preparations! Special measures to prevent epidemics
At that time, the corporation claimed that water supply in the city would now be more regular, smooth, and at high pressure. However, even after eight years, the situation remains 'as is'. The nature of the water shortage has not changed much; on the contrary, the problem is becoming more complex each year. How hollow and empty these claims of the administration were is clear from today's pathetic situation.
To understand the mathematics of Mira-Bhayandar's water problem, one must see the discrepancy between the corporation's data and the ground reality. As of today, the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation receives a total of 221 million liters of water per day from the STEM Authority and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Although this figure seems large on paper, the ground reality is extremely harsh. Due to bursting of main pipelines, large-scale unauthorized water leakage, technical difficulties, and inept flaws in the corporation's internal distribution system, it is said that the city actually gets only about 200 million liters of water.
On the other hand, considering the city's expansion, Mira-Bhayandar's daily water requirement has reached 225 million liters per day. That is, there is already a huge gap between allocation and availability, and with actual water received being less, there is a daily shortage of 25 million liters of water in the city. The municipal administration has completely failed to fill this gap.
Also read: Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway raid by crime branch; driver from Bhiwandi arrested with gutka worth Rs 13 lakh
At the root of this problem is not just insufficient water supply, but also the rapid and unbridled expansion of Mira-Bhayandar city in the past few years. Over the last two decades, the population of Mira-Bhayandar has grown tremendously. Being adjacent to Mumbai and relatively affordable housing has led thousands of middle-class families to prefer living in Mira-Bhayandar. This population growth has led to towering buildings and large townships springing up in every corner of the city.
The municipal corporation gave building permissions to developers and issued hundreds of new water connections. However, at the speed with which the concrete jungle grew and water connections were issued, the corporation made no concrete plans to increase the original sources of water supply. As a result, the strain on the available limited water has continuously increased, and today the entire city is thirsty for water.
Geographically, Mira-Bhayandar is at the end of the water supply distribution system. Bhayandar comes at the end of the pipelines coming from Thane or other cities. Therefore, whenever there is a failure in the main pipeline or water is cut, this city bears the brunt the most. In other cities, water supply is restored within a few hours after the cut ends or the technical fault is repaired;
Also read: 'Komsap' to teach Marathi to auto-rickshaw drivers
But since Mira-Bhayandar is at the end, it takes 24 to 36 hours to build sufficient water pressure in the pipelines. That is, a single day's cut announced by the administration becomes a three to four-day ordeal for citizens. This is why the impact of water scarcity here is felt more intensely and for a longer duration.
The patience of citizens in Mira-Bhayandar, who have been troubled for water for the past three months, has now finally run out. With daily chores becoming difficult, angry women and citizens have taken to the streets with pots and pans, openly protesting against the municipal administration and expressing their intense anger. As citizens' protests began to increase and the social and political atmosphere of the city started to heat up over water, political parties in the city have now woken up 'late'.
Keeping the upcoming elections in mind and to avoid public wrath, political parties that had remained silent until now and were in the opposition have suddenly adopted an aggressive stance, starting to march and hold sit-ins against the corporation. However, "Where were these leaders when we were wandering for water?" is a pointed question that discerning citizens of the city are now asking these political parties.
The water problem for Mira-Bhayandar residents is no longer just a civic issue; it has become a struggle for their fundamental rights and survival. Citizens pay regular taxes to the corporation, then why should they have to take to the streets for their rightful water? The entire city cannot be held hostage to just one promise that 'water from the Surya dam will come'.
Also read: Shocking: Second real brother of BJP women and child welfare chairman also sexually assaulted a schoolgirl in a corporation school
The corporation should immediately crack down on illegal water connections, use modern technology to prevent water leakage, and conduct a proper audit of water distribution. If the administration does not take concrete steps now, there is no doubt that internal disputes over water and the law-and-order issue will become more serious in the coming days.
Surya dam water far away:
As a permanent solution to this ongoing problem, the state government has approved an additional water supply of about 218 million liters per day for Mira-Bhayandar city from the Surya dam project in Palghar district. For the past eight years, local leaders and the administration have been promising that "water from the Surya dam will soon come to the city and quench citizens' thirst." However, due to various reasons such as land acquisition issues, technical approvals, and administrative lethargy, the work on this project has been constantly delayed.
Years are passing, but the water from the Surya dam has not yet reached the taps of Mira-Bhayandar residents. No concrete and positive impact of this project has been seen on the city's water problem so far. The administration's functioning is so sluggish that citizens feel that after a water supply disruption, officials do nothing more than simply inform on social media that "water will not come today."
First published on: 09-06-2026 at 08:23 IST | © The Indian Express (P) Ltd
