hirvati, the woman who slapped Sangam Vihar MLA Dinesh Mohaniya of the Aam Aadmi Party last week, is raring to have another go at him. Raining down the choicest of abuses on the absent MLA, Dhirvati told this newspaper that she would not step back from another altercation if Mohaniya did not fix her water problem. A resident of Sangam Vihar H-block, she complained of intermittent water supply, which was not enough to manage her daily chores. "Even if I have to face criminal charges, I will fight against this kind of politics. They have blocked our water supply because of which our cattle are suffering.

The AAP is discriminating against us because they think H-block residents did not vote for them," Dhirvati boomed, while feeding her cattle in front of our two-storeyed house in Asia's largest unauthorised colony.

She then dragged these correspondents inside her house and showed them the empty buckets that had stayed dry for over a week. She was furious that the local AAP workers curtailed their water supply without informing the residents. She alleged that in the ensuing altercation, the local MLA's chela (acolyte), Prem Singh, aka "Vicky", manhandled her. The MLA was standing there, doing nothing, when Dhirvati went and slapped him.

Water is the burning issue in this maze-like south Delhi colony comprising haphazard clusters of dilapidated houses, cattle grazing land, twisted lanes and overflowing gutters.

The residents claim that Dinesh Mohaniya's men are goons. Rinku, a property dealer, alleged "that this bunch of crooks" have been wreaking havoc in the area ever since the AAP has come to power. "The AAP has made life difficult for us by trying to stop private tankers that were the only source of water for us. Earlier, we used to get a 24-hour water supply. But then the MLA and his minions installed a timer on the public bore well for H-block. This stops the water flow after 12 hours every day," said Rinku.

The residents are also unhappy that Vicky, Mohaniya's right hand man, is charging them Rs 100 a month for the water on behalf of the "residents' welfare association". They are not sure where this money is going. Kiran Devi, a housewife, handed these reporters a receipt signed by Vicky. "Despite paying money to Vicky, we have not got water for 15-20 days," she said.

The residents also gave these reporters a copy of an FIR (dated 28 January), which Vicky has lodged with the police against the residents. Apart from complaining against the residents' "bad behaviour", he has written that he will no longer install a pipeline in H-block. He has claimed that Mohaniya had asked him to install the connection.

Some private water tankers are still coming to the area, but because of their scarcity, they have hiked their prices from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000.