Thane villagers to protest city ‘bias’

THANE: Tribal families from the parched pockets of Mokhada taluka, around 140km from Thane, will hold demonstrations at the site of the Middle Vaitarna project on Wednesday to protest against the authorities for “neglecting” the locals’ demand for water while spending crores to boost the daily supply to Mumbai.
The project, set for completion in 2013, is expected to augment water supply to Mumbai by 455 million litres per day.The dam is being built at Kochala village in Mokhada; it stands between the Upper and Lower Vaitarna and is said to have cost the state Rs 2,500 crore.
The trigger for the protest rally, say locals, is the government’s “refusal” to honour its 2007 commitment that the dam work will start only after the basic drinking water needs of Mokhada’s residents are fully met.
“The natural resources of a tribal region are being plundered by the authorities for the benefit of those living in the cities. More than 40 villages in Mokhada witness a drought-like situation every year due to water shortage. Though the taluka is situated at a higher altitude, efforts to stop the free flow of rainwater into the sea have been inadequate. Most wells in this belt go dry during the summer,” senior BJP functionary Omprakash Sharma told TOI.
Parvati Jadhav, the tribal woman who died on the road after walking 4-5km to fetch water from a tanker, belongs to Dolare village in Mokhada. Though the region receives high rainfall, inadequate irrigation facilities and an unfavourable terrain make water storage difficult, say villagers.