In an ugly turn of events, city police on Wednesday lathicharged women while they were protesting against absence of water supply in their respective colonies adjoining Barfanidham. The incident took place on BRTS road opposite C 21 Mall when large number of men and women enraged over absence of water supply in their localities had blocked BRTS road opposite C 21 Mall, raising slogans against Indore Municipal Corporation.
Aggrieved over non-availability of potable water, residents of 2-3 colonies adjoining Barfanidham took to streets on Wednesday.
They gathered in front of C 21 Mall and started raising slogans against Indore Municipal Corporation for its inability streamline water supply in their localities despite lodging a complaint with the municipal authorities.
During the demonstration, the agitated people after sometime also blocked road and stopped a city bus passing through the road. In the meantime, a large posse of police force arrived there and tried to control the restive crowd. However, the agitating people remained unrelenting and started pelting stones on the bus, leading to damage of its window panes.
Apparently unnerved by people resorting to violence, police jawans present there resorted to lathi charge and they even also showered lathis on agitating women and chased them away.
Some of the demonstrators however, condemned police action saying that police resorted to lathi charge without giving a prior warning to them.
The demonstration and road blockade let to traffic jam in the locality for quiet sometime with a large queue of vehicles were seen remaining stranded on both sides of BRTS road in C 21 Mall.
According to report, residents of various colonies adjoining Barfanidham were peeved over none supply of water in their localities for the past 2-3 days.
They had also lodged a complaint with the municipal authority in this regard but no initiative was taken by the municipal corporation to streamline water supply in these locality, thereby promopting people to take recourse to agitation.