Dozens of Adivasi residents from Malwadi hamlet under Group Gram Panchayat Ambivali in Pen taluka staged a dramatic “Jal Samadhi” (Water Martyrdom) protest on Tuesday, demanding immediate access to basic necessities like drinking water and a motorable road. The protest, led by the Gram Samvardhan Social Organization under social activist Santosh Thakur, compelled local officials to visit the site and promise action within 48 hours.
The protest took place in the Bhogavati riverbed, highlighting the dire conditions faced by around 200 Adivasis in Malwadi. “Despite a Rs 45 lakh water project approved under the Jal Jeevan Mission in December 2023 and a separate road construction work order issued in September 2024, neither project has been completed. It is administrative negligence and contractor inaction for their ongoing struggles,” Thakur said.
Pen Taluka Stage ‘Jal Samadhi’ Protest |
Pen Taluka Stage ‘Jal Samadhi’ Protest |
Pen Taluka Stage ‘Jal Samadhi’ Protest |
Women from the hamlet reported walking up to two kilometers daily to collect unsafe water from ponds or forest pits, often in the early morning hours, sacrificing their daily wages. Additionally, the lack of a road has had fatal consequences — including the recent death of an unborn child after a pregnant woman couldn’t reach medical care in time, informed Thakur.
Following the protest escalation, key officials including Pen Tehsildar Tanaji Shejal, Block Development Officer Avinash Gharat, Zilla Parishad engineers Ravi Pachpor and Ramesh Rathod, and PWD Engineer Damodar Patil visited the protest site. They assured the crowd that a permanent water supply system would be implemented within two days and road construction would begin by May 16.
Pen Taluka Stage ‘Jal Samadhi’ Protest |
Pen Taluka Stage ‘Jal Samadhi’ Protest |
“Based on this assurance, we announced a temporary suspension of the protest, warning that if promises are not fulfilled, the protestors would lock the PWD and water supply offices,” Thakur said.
Activists Mansi Patil, Nanda Mhatre, Sachin Gawand, Vishal Pawar, Kishore Patil, and many others joined the demonstration. The protestors claimed that the state had failed to provide essential infrastructure even decades after independence.
