NCP holds ‘begging’ protest to clear water dues of ministers

The youth wing of the NCP on Tuesday staged a novel protest here by begging money to "foot the pending water bills" of official residences of chief minister and other ministers in Maharashtra.

Members of the NCP youth wing's Mumbai unit staged the "bheek maango" (begging) protest outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus here, after media reports claimed that bungalows of the chief minister and some other ministers were in the civic body's list of water bill defaulters.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), dues worth Rs 7.44 lakh were pending against the connection provided at the chief minister's bungalow Varsha.

NCP youth wing's working president Suraj Chavan said, "The BMC cuts water supply when common citizens fail to pay bills for a month or two. But the bill of the chief minister's bungalow has been pending for several months.

To help clear the bill, our youth wing staged the bheek mango protest." Chavan also said that in case the BMC fails to take action in the matter in next four to five days, they would take out a march towards the chief ministers official residence and cut its water supply along with civic officials.

In a clarification issued on Monday, the government said the water bills of bungalows of the chief minister and other ministers were paid in November 2018 itself.

The process to clear dues, however, was stopped after a "difference" was noticed in the bills cleared earlier and received in May this year, it said.

The government also said that the process to clear the dues was being undertaken immediately after tallying the same.