Mumbai, the most densely-populated city in India with 13 million inhabitants in 2006, is currently facing a severe water crisis. The quantities of water available have reached a critical level, meaning the various uses of water resources have to be prioritised.

The problem is even greater in the poor quarters of the city, such that many of the residents in these neighbourhoods are being forced to drink unsafe water. Many water cuts were expected in January, sometimes for as long as 24 hours. 

The Head of the Governement on the Indian state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is the capital, insists that the production of potable water for consumption by residents is the top priority, and that all ancillary uses of water, such as cleaning buses or trains, have been reduced or eliminated. 

The anger of the inhabitants is growing, a fortiori in the poor districts. They accuse the elected officials of not acting sufficiently quickly to find a solution to this major problem.