On parched periphery, water still in the pipeline

For the new BBMP areas on the periphery of the relatively well-off core Bangalore, water crisis is an annual ordeal, a daily intense struggle of elementary existence, and also a period of hope for the mirage of the Cauvery water project. Deccan Herald revisits the areas once again to see if a year of promises has made a difference; whether the authorities have gone beyond the old, worn-out strategies of borewells, and if hope still endures...

T Dasarahalli

Tempers flared, eyes glared and expletives were exchanged. But after some tense moments, Shylaja S got her share of water from a tap at Bagalagunte Ward 14. It’s 8.30 in the morning (Thursday) and Shylaja has been waiting in the queue for more than two hours. But her wait for water has been much longer.

“This tap has been dry for the last two months. Only today, they have released water. Thankfully, water is supplied at this time when everyone is in a hurry to go to work. At least today, I can take a couple of pots of more water than I usually do,” she says.

According to another Bagalagunte resident, Krishnappa, fights at the tap near his house on Thursday morning were nothing compared to what happened at a tank a few feet away. “The BBMP tanker had come to supply water and a fight broke out among women. The police had to come in to break up the fight,” he recalls.

An hour earlier at  T Dasarahalli Ward 15, garment factory worker Gangaraju was getting his sump filled with water supplied by a tanker. He says it has been more than a month since water was supplied to his house.

Gangaraju says there are three families living in his building, and together they spend around Rs 4,000 on water.

Peenya

Six months ago, when Border Security Force jawan Venkatesh returned home after serving in Kashmir to help his father run his restaurant, ‘Hotel Guru Kripa’ in Peenya II stage, little did he realise there were many battles yet to be fought.

“Every day there is a new problem, but what is constant is water shortage. “Till last month, we used to get water once a week, which was not sufficient. Then the BWSSB workers, who came to fix the sanitary line, damaged the water pipe. Now, there is no water,” he laments.

Venkatesh says they require at least three tankers of water every day and pay Rs 300 for each load.

At Rajagopalnagar, Padma was checking her empty pot. There wasn’t a drop of water from the tap in the last one week. “Normally, they used to supply water for 10 minutes every day. It has become a weekly affair. We tie the pot to the tap to reserve our slot in the queue. So, the next time when water comes, I’ll be one of the first to catch water,” she says.

Padma says there are 100 houses that depend on one tap for water. “Each family needs at least five pots of water. There are fights all the time,” she says.

Bommanahalli

Like any other newly added BBMP area, Bommanahalli is also reeling under severe water shortage this summer.  This area is thickly populated mainly by the migrants who shell out a fortune for water. 

Most of the borewells here have dried up and the few working ones do not have a functional motor to pump water.  Residents here buy potable water at Rs 2 or 3 per pot which sometimes go up to Rs 5. 

“We are tired of complaining about water to the local leaders and BWSSB officials.  With high demand for water, there are many thugs who swindle money from the poor for water. Even the BWSSB water is sold here, which has to be distributed free of cost,” informs Shammanna Reddy, a resident of Bommanahalli.  

Uttarahalli

Unlike the previous years, Uttarahalli village and the adjoining areas this year are relatively well-equipped to deal with water crisis. Other than borewell lines, Cauvery water too has come to the rescue of the residents, say ward corporator Ramesh Raju, the BWSSB and BBMP engineers.

Before the onset of summer, the corporator ensured that Cauvery reaches the village. As a result, the usual scene of people running with plastic pots on bicycles in search of water has become rare.

However, this is not the case with nearby Vasanthapura ward where slum dwellers continue to face water crisis. Some distance away from Vasanthapura at the Yelchenahalli ward, water shortage is grave and ward corporator Manjunath has no idea how to cope with it.

KR Puram

In Vijinapura Ward 51, Amaravathi fills two drums of water from her neighbour’s borewell. She says she pays Rs 40 for both drums and that they last for two days. “This water is very salty. So, we buy drinking water separately. That costs Rs 30 a can. And in the summer heat, it gets over in no time,” she says.

A few streets away, Janardhan tries to lock a hand pump. “If we pump water continuously for too long, we get muddy water. So, we lock the pump once muddy water starts flowing,” he says.

Janardhan, who has been living in Vijinapura for the last 30 years, says, after struggling for water for many years, he and other residents in his area collected money and got a hand pump installed.

“There are 200 people who get water from this pump. We can’t depend on the BBMP for water. The last time the Palike water tank came (to our area) was two months ago,” he says.

Mahadevapura

At Mahadevapura Ward 81, Raghu watches on as his neighbours fill pots with water from his borewell. One of them, Nirmala, says the water is salty, but they have no other option. “We pay one rupee for a pot of water, which is cheaper than in some other places here,” she says.

Raghu says the government should make sure no more apartments come up in the area.

“Earlier, one borewell was enough for the entire Mahadevapura village. Now, one apartment complex has more people than the entire village used to have. How will there be any water,” he asks. Raghu says he gets drinking water from a private supplier, and that getting it has become difficult these days. “If you want it immediately, they ask for Rs 600 to Rs 700 per tanker,” he says.

Jayraj, who runs a bakery in Pai Layout, had to cough up Rs 850 for a tanker-load of water last summer. “I’ve been living here for 10 years. Right from the time I settled here, there has been water shortage in the area. Now, even if you pay, private suppliers supply water only after two or three days. Only if you know the suppliers personally, do you get water immediately,” he says.