A complaint over an alleged prolonged drinking-water disruption in Kolkata’s Jyoti Nagar Colony has been taken to the United Nations by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Samirul Islam, who has asked the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to seek information from the authorities concerned.
Mr. Islam shared his letter in a post on X and alleged that Muslim residents of the colony had been deprived of regular drinking-water supply. He linked the disruption to the political change in West Bengal and claimed that the colony’s residents were being excluded because they are Muslims. The allegation has not been independently established in the report, and no response from the civic authorities or the State government was cited.
In his communication, Mr. Islam described the reported water shortage as a basic human-rights issue rather than only a civic-services problem. He referred to the United Nations’ recognition of access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right, and said the reported disruption had implications for residents’ health, dignity and adequate standard of living.
“The residents have not asked for a privilege or a special benefit. They are asking for access to something indispensable for their survival,” Mr. Islam said in the letter, according to the report. He urged the relevant UN human-rights mechanisms to take note of the situation and seek information from the authorities on the reasons for what he described as the prolonged failure to provide an adequate and regular supply.
The MP also warned that an absence of drinking water could increase the risk of disease and affect thousands of people, particularly residents from poor and underprivileged sections. The report did not provide details on the duration of the alleged disruption, the number of affected households, the responsible water-supply agency or whether residents had filed complaints with local authorities.
The episode places a local water-supply dispute within a wider administrative question: how interruptions to essential municipal services are recorded, investigated and addressed, particularly when residents allege discriminatory treatment. For the reported claim to be formally assessed, information would be required from the relevant Kolkata civic authorities, the State administration and residents of Jyoti Nagar Colony.
Mr. Islam’s letter seeks intervention from the UN human-rights system, including a request for information from the authorities concerned. The report did not state whether the UN had acknowledged the communication or initiated any process in response.
