Cong protests water woes, clashes with cops
Congress workers in Alwar led by party’s district president Tikaram Jully protested scarcity of drinking water in the district on Friday. The party workers clashed with police and later alleged they were manhandled.
Party workers from all parts of the district gathered at Nangloi Circle on Friday to protest developments in Karnataka.
They burnt effigy of the Prime Minister before marching to the water supply department. The protesters handed over an 8-point memorandum regarding the scarcity of drinking water to officers.
Later, there was a ruckus as party workers, raising slogans against the department, tried to enter the offices. Some workers fell down in the melee.
General secretary of Mahila Congress Sweta Saini said police misbehaved with women protesters.
“Women face the brunt of water scarcity the most because it affects their daily chores,” she added.
DCC president Jully said the department had agreed to set up control rooms in every office in the district. “They said they will increase the number of tankers supplying drinking water and clear dues of tankers pending for two years,” he said.
Jully said if the department did not solve water woes in three days, there will be a bigger agitation.
Meanwhile, additional chief engineer MC Rathi said the department will increase number of tankers fitted with GPS. “Although some tanker owners are opposing the move, we will go ahead because we want to solve this problem by August this year. We cannot do anything much because district depends on groundwater, which is falling day by day,” he said.
According to the National Capital Region rules, a consumer should get 200 litres of drinking water every day but the supply is fewer than 100 litres. People get piped water once in two days.
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