The newly floated citizens’ forum, Guwahati Sanmilita Nagarik Adhikar
Suraksha Mancha, under the leadership of noted intellectual Hiren Gohain
protested against privatisation of water.

Policemen were
deployed in the GMDA office where the protestors gathered shouting
slogans against the ‘commercialization and privatization’ of water
supply in Guwahati.

“Water supply projects have been undertaken
without due consultation with citizens. There are reports that they are
aimed at privatizing water supply in the city. Such a move violates the
UN mandate that the right to water is a human right and also the
Supreme Court’s view, which has directed that the right to water be
recognized as part of the fundamental Right to Life guaranteed by the
Constitution,” said Akhil Ranjan Dutta, professor of Gauhati University.