The commissioner, however, could not meet the three residents who are on an indefinite hunger-strike in protest against his administration's failure to provide some of the most basic amenities to the village. Ramesh Whatkar, Vasant Sutar and Sushila Badgujar have been shifted to the Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar.

Bandri, however, promised to find a permanent solution to the water problem soon. ``I assure you that till then KDMC will arrange for five tankers to bring you water daily,'' he told the villagers and added, ``we are also providing nine 5,000-litre capacity tanks besides digging ten new bore-wells in the neighbourhood.'' While promising villagers that these measures would be in place by February 10, he said a survey forcommissioning a new line to village areas directly from MIDC would be made soon. Today when this reporter visited the village, residents complained they had been taken for a ride again. ``Only one tanker has come since morning and we have been waiting for water,'' said Indubai Torne a resident who added, ``if they had told us it is not possible we would at least not have kept our chores aside and waited all day long.''