08, May 2015

Mumbai: Is it wrong to spare a thought for your livestock’s water needs at a time when the mercury is soaring at 45 degree Celsius? Around 500 kms from Mumbai, Dalit sarpanch Datta Haribhau Kamble, 48, of Umra village in Parbhani district, who is battling for life after being set upon and attacked by upper-caste Marathas, has learnt this the hard way.
“My father was on his usual morning walk on Thursday when he noticed some members of the upper-caste Maratha community diverting water from a tank meant for cattle to their fields. Scorching summer sun demands that the cattle are provided with enough drinking water. When he told them to stop taking away water meant for cattle, they became agitated and assaulted him with spades and an axe,” Kamble’s 19-year-old son Sanjay told dna.