The Times of India 10.04.2013
Civil bodies protest against 'privatization' of water supply
GUWAHATI: Several citizens' bodies on Tuesday staged a protest at the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) office, decrying a possible move by the state government to privatize and commercialize upcoming urban water supply projects in Guwahati.
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.
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.
