By IANS,
Mumbai : One person lost his life and at least five others were injured here after police caned a 5,000-strong group protesting against an additional 15 percent cut in Mumbai’s water supply Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The protesters, led by Congress leader Nitesh Rane, under the banner of the organization ‘Swabhimaan’, had converged outside the headquarters of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
The decision to impose additional water cuts across Mumbai was taken recently by MCGM ruled by the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party, in view of the nearly 30 percent rain deficit in the city.
The protesters shouted slogans against the administration for the water cuts which had inconvenienced 14 million people of the city.
Even as the protesters attempted to break police barricades, police started caning them and the people started running helter-skelter.
One protestor, Viral Dholakia, 33, who was injured was rushed to the nearby Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
However, hospital authorities told mediapersons that the cause of the death – whether due to police caning or any other reason – is yet to be confirmed.
In the police action, at least another five people were injured, including two seriously. They have been rushed to various city hospitals.
Meanwhile, similar violent protests for water erupted in Nashik, the temple town around 250 km north-east of Mumbai, but the situation there is under control, say police.