News18 Report Ends Mharal’s ‘Uphill’ Water Struggle: 10,000-L Tank on the Way; Supply Begins

Taking note of the News18 report on the plight of tribals living in Mharal in Ambernath town of Thane district, who are forced to climb up a hill at least four times a day to fetch water from a stream, the administration has decided to put in place a 10,000-litre tank. The authorities have also fixed a pipeline in the other part of the village, starting the water supply.

Speaking to this reporter, Manju Jindal, CEO of Thane Zilla Parishad, said, “As we were informed about this issue, we sent our technical team, which includes water supply engineers, to find the reasons behind the issue.”

Jindal said for the part of the village that fetches water from the stream, the administration plans to lay a pipeline. “The local administration will also build a 10,000-litre water tank to store water directly into the tank. This will ensure they don’t need tankers.”

In the other part of the village, however, the technical team realised that the issue was the pipeline. “It was not in good condition. The valves, too, were missing. The pipeline has now been repaired. Also, a motor has been installed, so that the water pressure is high, as these villages on are on an elevation compared to the other villages. The water supply has started in one part of the village.”

‘GOT WATER, BUT JUST FOR 15 MINS’

Mharal near Ambernath town falls in Thane district, which is Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s stronghold. This website had reported how the women climb the hill at least three-four times a day, with two or three buckets in hand, which becomes dangerous during the monsoon, as the slope becomes slippery. To evade the crowd, some start their day as early as 3am. If the stream dries up, they have to walk for 1.5 hours to fetch water from Ramabai Hill in the neighbouring village.

Dagdu Wagh, a resident of Mharal village, said, “After 15 months, for the first time, the officials of local administration came with a tanker. They also repaired the old pipeline and made it functional.”

Wagh cited other worries. “Today, we received water for just 15 minutes in the morning and in the evening too, as the visit of the Zilla Parishad CEO was scheduled. I don’t know about tomorrow, as they have told us that water will be supplied every alternate day. We could hardly fill two buckets of water. I am not sure whether we will get continuous water supply or not.”

‘WILL ENSURE SUFFICIENT WATER SUPPLY’

Jindal, however, allayed the fears. “We have instructed our team that sufficient water should be provided to these villagers till the time the work on the water line is underway. We will also issue written orders to the department concerned. I have also instructed the Gram Sevak and Sarpanch of Mharal village to monitor the water supply and get in touch with my team if there is any issue.”