Although the monsoon brought ample rainfall to the catchment areas of all dams in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the water supply in Panvel remains unchanged. Several areas in Panvel continue to face severe water shortages, prompting a unique protest from a frustrated resident.
Baban Vishwakarma, a resident of Sector 8 in New Panvel, staged a symbolic protest by bathing in rainwater accumulated in potholes on the road. He shared a video of the incident on social media, highlighting the irony of having no water in his taps, but plenty on the streets. "There is no water at home, but there's enough on the road, so I decided to take a bath there," he said.
#water#potholes@PanvelCorp@ithakurprashant@lokmattimesengpic.twitter.com/DvoFCOrRsQ
— Amit Srivastava (@s_amit007) October 24, 2024 ">When asked about the motivation behind his act, Vishwakarma explained that the potholes outside his home had created a pond-like condition. With inadequate water supply at home, he resorted to this method to bring attention to the issue. He criticized the government and local MLAs, particularly Prashant Thakur, who has been elected three times, but has failed to resolve the water crisis and other basic issues.
As the date for the Maharashtra Assembly election has been announced, Thakur, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, is facing growing criticism from voters in Panvel. Despite being nominated multiple times for the legislative assembly, residents are dissatisfied with the lack of progress on key issues, including the persistent water shortage. Opposition parties may use this discontent to their advantage in the upcoming election by focusing on these unresolved problems.
The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) supplies water to New Panvel, Kalamboli, Khandeshwar, Kamothe, Kharghar, Taloja, Navade, and Kalundre. However, despite Panvel becoming a municipal corporation eight years ago, neither CIDCO nor the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has managed to resolve the water crisis.
Efforts by PMC, Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, and CIDCO have not yielded any concrete solutions, leaving residents questioning when clean drinking water and other essential infrastructure will be improved. While the PMC is working on constructing concrete roads to tackle the pothole problem, it's unlikely that all roads can be addressed simultaneously, meaning the issue may persist for the next five years.
Vishwakarma’s protest of bathing in a pothole reflects the growing frustration of Panvel’s residents, who feel abandoned by their elected representatives. "This act was not a political stunt," he said. "It was an expression of the everyday struggles we face living in CIDCO-developed areas. We are tired of the government’s inaction and the inefficiency of a three-term MLA."
Despite these assurances, Panvel residents remain skeptical, questioning when fundamental issues like water, health, education, property taxes, and electricity will be resolved.