WHERE ARE THEY ?

It was a hot May afternoon in 2013. Returning to Hyderabad after several years, I could sense how this city had grown immensely, just going by the heavy traffic and the general buzz around the city – a city that had prospered in the modern era thanks to the IT boom. Cyberabad was an alternate name to the city.

But the main arterial roads do not tell the full story – and that is what we got to know from Chandbhai, one of the volunteers of Basti Vikas Manch, a local community forum of people (loosely translated as Neighbourhood Development Forum) living in low income settlements or basti of Bhokalpur. Their origins had an interesting yet tragic beginning.

The local community, who were supplied water through a network of pipes by their local utility were rudely awakened when contaminated water killed 30 people in a matter of few days in 2009. Till then, people were largely concerned about getting just about enough water in their locality. Little did they realise that this very water could one day be the cause of a major tragedy. The reason was that there was a sewer pipe that was running just above the water pipe, and leaks in both these pipes resulted in the water being contaminated.

30 deaths in a matter of a few days was indeed shocking, but the apathy of those responsible was even more so. When the local community members went to complain, they found that neither the officers of the utility nor their local elected representatives in the municipality were available. In a desperate act, they lodged a ‘missing report’ with the local police station, expressing concern for their officers and corporators who had gone ‘missing’. Thanks to some sympathetic journalists, they were also able to get media attention to a tragedy that could otherwise have gone unnoticed.

This terrible experience resulted in several positive benefits. Firstly, the local community decided that they had to be organised and that they could not simply rely on their elected representatives who had other vested interests. Basti Vikas Manch was a result of that realisation. A community that had a significant representation of both Hindus and Muslims and in a context that could potentially be sensitive and vulnerable to communal violence, it was important that local interests were way above narrow religious ones.

Secondly, the importance of safe water became very apparent. Water quality monitoring became important. They set up local labs with basic equipment to ensure regular testing of water quality. With a strong community forum, water supply was being monitored, but water quality monitoring was also given equal importance.

Thirdly, the community also realised the importance of proper sanitation facilities. Now this was a major challenge given the congested settlement. During my visit, they shared a new problem – a public toilet was demolished as those living near the toilet complained about stench. And while the men have an alternative of using the toilets of a mosque nearby, for the women, there was a serious concern about lack of facilities.

Things have now significantly improved, thanks largely to the dedicated work of the volunteers, cutting across social and economic groups in the community to ensure that people have access to water. Sanitation as a challenge is being addressed. But more importantly, their voice and organisation has been recognised by the local utility, who now urge them to come to them directly with their complaints before reporting it to the local media, a tactic they had used effectively in the past. It is not surprising therefore that the level of responsiveness of the service providers has significantly increased !