Fighting Water (Woes) With Water (Cannons)

Water, they say, seeks its own level. But even by the surface tension that we see breaking out into the open almost every day, this one has to be worth its wet in drench. On Monday, Delhi Police used water cannons on protesters outside the state health minister's residence. Nothing strange about that - especially in these summer months when a forceful wring is considered the most effective way to cool off and disperse a hot-headed crowd. But here's where we enter unchartered waters: these protesters were BJP workers agitating against Delhi's water shortage. Not quite fighting fire with fire, but shooting water against water woes has irony soaked in it.

The 'tanker mafia' was another of the protesters' concerns. This refers to people selling water to those left high and dry. Shooting high-velocity streams of water on people protesting water shortage may not be the best of optics. It suggests state authorities losing control, and engaging in the desperate measure of a human pest control. But, in India, instead of a symbol of state force, the use of the water cannon is seen as a de rigueur dispersal method. Agitations against police lathi charges are also unlikely to get police lathi charging those very protesters. So, any argument against water cannons may not hold water. Including, of course, the wastage of the precious stuff.