Izzat ka Pani: The story of a Mumbai resident’s long struggle for piped water

A video feature on the decade-long struggle of Abrar Salmani of Bhim Nagar, an informal settlement in Mumbai, to access his right to water.

Izzat ka Pani depicts the struggle of Abrar Salmani, resident of Bhim Nagar, Mankhurd, one of at least 62 informal settlements in Mumbai that are denied legal water access and have no piped water supply.

This film describes Salmani’s decade-long journey to access his Right to Water, a prerequisite to the Right to Life, guaranteed by the Constitution of India. Through this journey, we take a glimpse into the lives of Mumbai’s urban poor, the political and systemic injustice they face when trying to access water and sanitation, as well as the on-going efforts of citizen collectives to reform this system.


Read more: What it takes to get water connections for 800 families in Andheri’s informal settlements


Note: This video story has been produced with the inputs from Accelerating Access Coalition (AACO) and other third party resources. Accelerating Access Coalition (AACO) is a consortium that aims to prioritize the agenda of improving citywide inclusive and resilient access to Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and Healthy Spaces for improved health and well-being outcomes and economic prosperity for all. However, all views expressed by the author(s) in the article are of his/her/their own and AACO does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by views, errors or omissions of the author(s).

Also read:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Bengaluru’s apartment STPs: How wastewater can transform into a vital resource

Apartments can release half their treated water, yet without pipelines, buyers, or public trust, it goes nowhere. Infrastructure can fix this.

Bengaluru boasts one of the world's largest networks of decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs). Yet, certificates of compliance are routinely issued without continuous monitoring, and much of the water treated on-site is never reused. In Part 1 of this series, we explored case studies of how three different apartment complexes navigate these issues. Missing pipelines, no buyers, and low trust in recycled water: the reasons why treated water has nowhere to go are numerous. In this second part, we examine these hurdles and what it will take to convert wastewater into a vital resource. Apartment residents often blame builder or…

Similar Story

Treated water down the drain: Bengaluru’s apartment STPs are failing efficient reuse

Apartment STPs aim to prevent sewage pollution and tackle water shortages, but weak monitoring and regulatory gaps raise serious efficiency questions.

In a 400-unit apartment complex in Jakkur, about one-third of treated water is being dumped into a nearby stormwater drain. While National Building Code (NBC) guidelines mandate that a building must have a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with a capacity of 210 to 290 Kilolitres per day (KLD), this apartment actually has an STP with around 300 KLD capacity. A resident of the complex, who requested anonymity, said that despite conducting audits, regularly monitoring water quality, and installing aerators, the apartment still struggles to reuse 100 per cent of its treated water. This is not an isolated case. In a…