24/7 water still a pipe dream for most urban wards in state

Pavithra (30) (name changed), a resident of Bapujinagar in west Bengaluru is a mother of four children who works as a domestic help. With her neighbourhood receiving drinking water only on alternate days and at no fixed time, storing drinking water often comes at the cost of not being able to cook breakfast for her children and getting delayed to work. 

Speaking to DH, Pavithra says drinking water is usually supplied during her work hours, owing to which many in her locality are delayed to work on such days. “We cannot afford to miss that window as we have to wait for two days again,” she narrates. Irregular supply of drinking water is not restricted to Bengaluru, but is a statewide issue.

Only 32 per cent wards lucky

According to recent data of the Urban Development Department, of the total 7,199 wards in the state, only 2,338 wards get daily drinking water supply, while 2,538 get it on alternate days, 1,053 once in three days and 1,270 wards once in anywhere between three and five days. 

In several districts, less than 50 per cent of the urban wards have daily water supply.  

In Chikkaballapur, for instance, of the total 158 wards, water supply is provided once in anywhere between three and five days, in 90 wards. Only nine wards in the district get daily water supply. Another case in point is Bengaluru Rural, where of the 158 wards, 82 wards get drinking water once in three days and beyond. Only 13 wards get water every day. 

The social cost of irregular water supply is borne by women and children, points out Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee of CIVIC, Bengaluru.

Delayed to work, school

“It comes at the cost of them either being delayed to work or missing it. Children also get delayed to school. If it is supplied at night, they lose sleep. Overall, they lose productive time,” she says, adding that stagnant water stored in drums poses health risks. 

Irregular water supply is a combination of lack of water resources and faulty pipes. 

Way back in 2004, the state launched ‘Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement Project,’ an initiative for 24/7 water supply in pockets of Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi and Kalaburagi, with help from World Bank. 

However, the state was unable to scale it up, observes water activist S Vishwanath. 

Lack of water source is not always the reason, he says, citing the instance of Mysuru where source is not an issue.

Leaky pipes

Yet, the city does not have 24/7 supply. One of the reasons for intermittent water supply is leaky pipes, which can be fixed to deliver 24/7 water, he adds. Intermittent supply also places a huge cost on households for storage and pumping of water.

Hence, the government’s target must be 24/7 supply, not just daily supply, he emphasises. 

Better-placed dists

Shivamogga, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Mysuru, Udupi, Bidar, Kalaburagi and Uttara Kannada are some of the districts where there is daily water supply to more than 50% of the households. 

Often, water accessibility is also linked to social affluence. Slums are hit the worst, Chamaraj says.

She proposes that the government create a common sump, pump and overhead tank for every 100 houses in informal settlements, with a tap in all houses. 

Drought woes

Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh told DH that the prevalent drought in Karnataka had aggravated the problem. As part of the larger measures, the government is calling for tenders worth Rs 8,600 crore under AMRUT 2.0 scheme, which will ensure drinking water for 288 towns. The works for this will begin in three months, he says.

That apart, for places such as Kolar and Chikkaballapur, the government is speeding up Yettinahole project. “Wherever possible, we are identifying water sources to resolve the issue. We are drawing water from as far as 40-50 km,” the minister explains.