AAP protests against discontinuation of free water scheme in Goa

Panaji, Jun 18 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday took out a protest march against the Goa government's decision to scrap a scheme under which drinking water was being provided free to citizens.
The protest was held to coincide with Goa Revolution Day.
AAP leaders walked from their office towards the BJP office in Panaji city but were stopped on the way. Police were deployed in large numbers to avoid any untoward incident.
Goa AAP chief Amit Palekar said the BJP government has withdrawn the scheme under which 16,000 units of potable water was provided every month to each house free.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier cited theft of water by consumers as the reason for discontinuing the scheme, launched after his government came to power three years ago.
Palekar claimed that it cost only Rs 6 crore per year.
"The government has crores of rupees for spending on events. When the Sawant-led government was sworn in in 2022, Rs 6 crore was spent on the18-minute function," the AAP leader said.
AAP MLA Cruz Silva said the people of Goa will have to vow to throw out the BJP government in the next election.
AAP Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said the fight is against the "bad governance" and it was the start of a "revolution against bad governance".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)