Around 5,000 residents of Jyotinagar Colony in north Kolkata’s Cossipore area have been without piped water for more than 50 days after the Kolkata Municipal Corporation disconnected the local supply on July 29.
The residents, many of whom live in shanties and work as daily labourers or rag pickers, now depend on water from neighbouring colonies and tankers arranged twice a week. Women and children are often seen carrying buckets to collect water from taps located outside their settlement.
Saira Bibi, a 24-year-old resident, said she has to walk to a tap near the Cossipore Gun and Shell Factory to collect water. She said several taps near the colony were disconnected and residents have been struggling to meet their daily water requirements.
Sheikh Moinuddin, secretary of the local slum development committee, said there were no individual taps inside the shanties and residents had traditionally depended on roadside water connections. According to him, the water supply to around six taps along a 100-metre stretch of Bank Strand Road was disconnected on July 29.
The water crisis comes amid an ongoing dispute over the land occupied by the colony. The approximately 3,478-square-metre plot belongs to the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, formerly known as the Kolkata Port.
Residents said they had been living in the area for several decades. They claimed that an eviction notice issued by the port authorities under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, came to light only after the water supply was disconnected.
Alamgir Biswas, another resident, alleged that there had been no prior warning before the water connections were cut. He said residents later learned that an Estate Officer of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port had issued an eviction notice in February, identifying them as occupants of the port's land.
The dispute has also become linked to the electoral rolls. Residents claimed that the names of around 150 people from the colony were deleted during the Special Intensive Revision, while the status of another 250-270 names remained under consideration before an appellate tribunal established under the Supreme Court's directions. Locals said there were around 350 existing voters in the settlement.
With the eviction dispute continuing, residents approached the Calcutta High Court. Their lawyer, Samim Ahmed, argued that the residents were not made parties to the proceedings that resulted in the eviction order. He said this raised concerns regarding natural justice and the right of affected people to be heard.
The lawyer also argued that public authorities could not arbitrarily deprive residents of essential civic amenities without following a fair and legally valid procedure.
The Calcutta High Court heard the matter on Friday and extended its interim protection, directing that no coercive steps be taken against the residents until the next stage of proceedings.
Meanwhile, the water shortage continues to affect daily life in the colony. Residents say water tankers arrive only twice a week, leading to large crowds as families gather with buckets and other containers.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation's response to the allegations was not immediately available. Repeated attempts to contact the civic commissioner reportedly received no response.
For residents, the immediate concern remains access to drinking and household water while the larger land and eviction dispute continues before the courts.
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