In his 25-year-long fight, for water, this man left his family

Born in the Koyna backwater area in Mahabaleshwar Sitaram Shelar always shared a special bond with water As a young boy his entire universe set in a small villageSaloshi was surrounded by nothing but water In 1979 when he moved to Mumbai to pursue better quality education this bond grew by leaps and bounds So it was not a surprise to his family and friends that he became a water activist fighting for the fundamental right to water for allAlso ReadIn Mumbai water is goldRecalling his 25yearlong fight for water Shelar 45 says When I was studying BCom at Ismail Yusuf College in Jogeshwari a few of my friends got together to start Prerna Library in 1994 Here we started reading about the people their issues and began analysing them This was my first exposure to the peoples problems in the country He however could no longer pursue his interest in volunteering for such people after graduation So I took a job at a CA firm and worked there for about a year Finally in 1998 I quit and joined the NGO Yuva in Mumbai This organisation worked towards helping the youth understand the Constitution and their basic rights and responsibilities recalls ShelarBut his parents strongly objected to this decision They didnt want me to leave my job and become a social worker So I left my family and started living with a group of friends in a dingy room in Jogeshwari Here I faced a water crisis for the first time in my life he says adding Since I lived in an illegal community then I would go to the nearby State Reserve Police Force SRPF camp and fill buckets of water Many a time they would kick our vessels and deny entry This made me think how there is no such restriction in my village Anyone could come by the river and fill litres of water In Mumbai however things were different Something needed to be done about itAlso Read Elections 2019 Damoh villagers threaten to boycott polls if water shortage issue not resolvedAlmost a decade later when he was still working with Yuva Shelar got the opportunity to work for a consultation programme organised by the World Bank in the citys KEast ward The pilot project was on water privatisation in the ward After I started getting deeply involved in the problems people faced in Mumbai I along with others started Mumbai Paani in 2007 which eventually became Pani Haq Samiti in 2010 the 45yearold water warrior sharesHeres how Mumbaikars are preserving and conserving waterPani Haq Samiti fights to secure the universal right to water Its focus has been creating public opinion opposition to privatisation of water supply and equal distribution of water to citizens Our first fight was to get the BMC to form a leak detection and prevention cell We all know that a large percentage of Mumbais supply is lost in leakages After fighting for years in 2010 the cell finally came into being say Shelar who then worked towards equal distribution of waterDespite the high courts order to the BMC to provide water for all many people were deprived of it In 2017 we filed 1084 applications each including details of five families to the BMC in which homes from across 17 wards asked for a formal water connection Till date only one familys request has been approved But our fight for the remaining families will not end Our aim is to make Mumbai thirstfree says Shelar who recently got two NoCs from the Bombay Port Trust and the Aarey CEO to provide water connections to 25000 and 1000 families respectivelyAlso Read Water crisis Mumbais stock lowest in three yearsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates