Parallel confab held in protest against world water summit
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A parallel conference on water was held at Senate Hall in Central College to protest against the Bangalore World Water Sumimit.
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BANGALORE (Feb. 2)—A parallel conference on water was held at Senate Hall in Central College to protest against the Bangalore World Water Summit in spite of it having attracted top businesspeople from around the world to the city.
Organizers of the People’s Campaign for Right to Water, Karnataka, believe that the world water summit is the first step towards turning Karnataka into a “water privatization gateway.”
According to a press release the group sent out, “The privatization lobby has systematically entrenched themselves into Karnataka’s governance structures by bypassing democratic norms, disregarding statutory procedures, and manipulating people’s opinions.”
The campaign believes that privatization of water supply at Mysore by the Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Co. , and by the French firm Veolia in Belgaum, Hubli and Gulbarga is indicative of a move to privatize Karnataka’s entire water supply.
However, a spokesperson from Veolia said this belief was false.
“We are not privatizing the water supply in Bangalore,” said Brun Piorson, head of sustainability and corporate social responsibility for Veolia.
The PCRWK summit also singled out Dr. A. Ravindra, Indian Administrative Services officer and adviser to the chief minister, as the erson responsible for pushing the agenda for the privatization of water supply.
The summit’s demands include the removal of Dr. Ravindra as the chief minister’s adviser. It also wants the government to take a stance against water privatization and create legislation that ensures that the state provides free “lifeline” water to all its residents.
The campaign for right to water in Karnataka brought together a diverse group of speakers including, Sri Sri Veerabhadra Chennamalla and Rev. Manohar Prasad, among others. It also featured songs about the importance of water by Prof. Nanjaraja Urs from Mysore.
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