Click to play videoMumbai: The Sawants of Malad in Mumbai may look like any other happy middle-class family except that they are living without water and power for the last three months.
Anil Sawant has been fighting a five-year legal battle with his housing society over the possession of a flat but the society management has hit back by sawing off the water inlet and disconnecting power.
“Even birds and animals get to use water. We are human beings and are being denied this basic right. This is a sad reality. If this was happening in a village, I could have gone to the well and brought water but I can’t even do that in a city,” an irate Sawant said.
Disputes among society members in Mumbai’s housing societies is an age-old problem but the big question is can a housing society deny basic essential rights like water and electricity to its members?
No says the Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.
The Association has 3,000 housing societies as its members and has never heard of such a practice to solve disputes among members. They say no bylaws of the Housing Society Act support such a drastic action.
“If there is an issue of non-payment of maintenance charges or other issues, they are supposed to go to court or take other remedial measures. Cutting water and electricity supply is like taking law in their hands. It's a clear criminal offence,” Chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, Ramesh Prabhu said.
Meanwhile, the police say it’s a civil matter and they will not step in. So, Sawant’s children are forced to study under candlelight with little option but to sweat it out till better sense prevails upon the housing society.
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