One killed in Mumbai water shortage protests

Reporting by Rina Chandran; Editing by Paul de Bendern and David Fox MUMBAI (Reuters) – One man was killed and about a dozen injured in a violent protest on Thursday against water cuts in India’s largest city after the worst monsoon in nearly four decades left Mumbai authorities scrambling to ration supplies. Mumbai is facing an estimated water shortfall of about 400 million liters of the 4,300 million liters needed daily. Many parts of the city of 18 million inhabitants only receive water a few hours in the day, forcing residents to buy water at exorbitant rates from touts. Businesses are dealing with a 30 percent cut in supply. India’s growing water shortages are seen as a potential dangerous trigger for wider social unrest. The government has been criticized for failing to address water and electricity shortages, both from industry and the 1.1 billion population. Mumbai’s civic authorities have said the water cuts are essential to ensure supplies last till next June, when the monsoon arrives. It has warned the cuts could get worse toward summer. …