Bangalore:
As Bangalore grows many times over in size, clout and capability, it faces a shortage of over 500 million litres of water per day. A shortage that forces people to depend - and spend - on private water tankers. In a special series tracking Bangalore's water crisis, NDTV reports on how greed has capitalised on need.
After 15 days of no water in the taps on Sunday, Jayaratna, a Bangalorean and a housewife, had called up a private water supply company but was told, she would have to wait her turn.
"Last year, we used to supply water within 4 hours of a call. This year, the waiting period is 3-4 days," says a private water tanker driver.
The private tanker companies source their water from bore wells dug close to one another. The price you pay for the water depends on how scarce the supply is in your locality. For a tankerful, which is 6,000 litres, the cost can be anywhere between Rs 200 rupees and Rs 1,000, sometimes even higher.
"We have to give, even if they ask for Rs. 1,000. We need water no? When corporation water doesn't come, what can we do, tell me? We have to get tanker water only," says Jayaratna.
Private tankers make hay, while the city's water crisis deepens. There is neither regulation nor an account of the number of private companies or how much they charge. With bad water management and the water supply body Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) clearly not doing enough, Bangaloreans have no go but to spend a tidy sum on buying precious water.
P B Ramamurthy, Chairman of the BWSSB, says, "It's not even the peak of summer already Bangalore's municipal water supply is down to a trickle."
In some areas people get water barely one hour day, a shortage expected to worsen by next month.