MEDIA STATEMENT

In light of mounting evidence of the failures of the private water system in Nagpur the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Canada’s largest union – and the Blue Planet Project (BPP), a global advocate for the human right to water and sanitation are standing in solidarity with the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Employees Union and the residents of Nagpur and calling for water services to be returned to public hands.

We are alarmed to hear reports of steep tariff hikes and shoddy services despite the rosy picture being painted by Veolia, the corporation leading the private consortium operating water and sanitation services in Nagpur. The experience in Nagpur shows that profit-driven private model is inherently unjust and unsustainable. The people of Nagpur deserve a democratically controlled public utility that puts the needs of people first.

CUPE and the BPP also join water movement allies Public Services International and Corporate Accountability International in demanding that the World Bank stop promoting privatization through its funding mechanisms and stop holding the city of Nagpur up as a model for others to follow.