Bengaluru: When Kaveri drives to your home

BWSSB launched the Sanchari Kaveri scheme, which enables users to book water tankers through a mobile app. Who will it serve? What are the challenges?

Bengaluru sits on a ticking time bomb as far as water security is concerned. As of 2024, the city’s population exceeds 1.3 crore, but piped water from the Kaveri River—its main source—reaches only about 60 per cent of the residents. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) supplies approximately 1,470 million litres per day (MLD), while demand is over 2,600 MLD.

Areas outside the BWSSB network, especially in the city’s peripheries like Whitefield, Sarjapur, and Electronic City, rely almost entirely on private water tankers. Peripheries like Whitefield, Sarjapur, and Electronic City rely almost entirely on private water tankers. A 2023 report by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) estimated that over 4,000 private tankers operate in the city, sourcing water from borewells, many of which are unregulated and illegally dug.

The Central Ground Water Board has declared several city zones as “overexploited,” with water tables dropping below 1,000 feet in some cases. However, over 40% of the population depends on borewells, many of which have dried up or are highly contaminated. 

As a result, fancy apartments inclduing the ones sporting ‘lake views’ and ‘rainforests’ in their names on the peripheral villages of the city stand on the brink of an imminent water crisis.

In April 2024, the city faced a drinking water crisis in the areas not covered by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). The nonavailability of potable drinking water and the overpricing of water by the water tanker mafia led the BWSSB on a new path of supplying drinking water in tankers to doorsteps. The BWSSB also prepared a map of 80 wards where groundwater was a challenge due to the absence of a Kaveri connection and severe groundwater table depletion.

This also led to the ideation of the Sanchari Kaveri scheme (Kaveri on Wheels), the pilot of which was launched a year later, in April 2025. The scheme launched in May operates through a mobile application, allowing people to book water tankers. 

Once the order is placed, the nearest tanker is assigned to fill water from one of the BWSSB’s 55 Kaveri connection centres. The officers check the water level and seal the water inlet. Users can track the tanker in real time through the app and get the driver’s contact details. The BWSSB claims to fulfil the order within 24 hours.

A water tanker getting filled in a Kaveri connection centre in Bengaluru.

Apartments that require bulk orders regularly must visit the nearest BWSSB office, make payment, and place the booking.

Under the scheme, a 4,000-litre tanker is priced at Rs 660, a 5,000-litre tanker at Rs 700, a 6,000-litre tanker at Rs 740, and a 12,000-litre tanker at Rs 1,290, for bookings within a 2-kilometre radius of the nearest filling centre. Additional distance is charged at Rs 50/km for smaller tankers and Rs 70/km for the 12000-litre tankers. 

In comparison, private tankers charge between Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 per tanker, with rates often increasing during the summer.  In the first 15 days, the scheme supplied 1532 orders and more than 10 MLDs of water, which Manohar says is “not easy to achieve”. 108 EPA-coated tankers are being branded with the BWSSB logo. Once these are fully utilised, the BWSSB would go for the next round of expansion.

“We plan to add more 12000 litre and 24000 litre tankers to reduce the number of trips and make it more economical,” says Mirza Anwar, executive engineer of BWSSB East Zone.

The added advantage is that the water is tested in labs for quality. “Water is BIS-certified, and transported in our tankers that are EPA-coated so that users can be assured of quality. We are the first water supply body to get BIS certification for drinking water in the country,” says Ram Prasath Manohar, BWSSB chairman.

Every morning, water samples from all supply centres are brought to BWSSB’s NABL-accredited lab, where they’re tested for chemical, biological, and bacterial parameters. Thus, the quality is guaranteed.

Daily, at least 250 tankers are supplying water to various apartments, according to officials. They say the positive effect of the scheme is that private water tankers have slashed their prices, while many are also ensuring the quality of water, which was not being followed strictly before. However, some challenges act as a hurdle to the scheme’s success.

Reluctance to avail of BWSSB connection

The primary issue is that Kaveri Phase 5, which encompasses the outer areas of Bengaluru, has yet to meet its full connection target. “Ninety per cent of the Kaveri stage 5 work has been completed; only some linking work remains. In another month, all the work will be finished. Once that is completed, many more areas would be covered,” said Anwar.

Establishing more connections remains a challenge for BWSSB, resulting in the underutilisation of its water supply capacity. “Out of the 770 MLD of water, we are using only 440 MLD now. We are pumping only the required amount of water right now,” says Ram Prasath Manohar. Out of the 3 lakh connections to be achieved by 2028, only one lakh have been achieved until now. 

Many apartments and individual houses that have been built within the erstwhile village panchayat limits have yet to take the BWSSB connections. They have their reasons for this, too.

K Arun Kumar, co-founder of the Bangalore Apartments Federation, says that the high cost of connections and self-sufficiency in water availability through borewells prevent independent homes from taking the BWSSB connection. Meanwhile, apartment owner associations cannot convince all the residents to pool their money and opt for a water connection, as they would have already paid for some form of water infrastructure, mostly borewells.

The consumers are being exploited by the private tanker owners by putting up an arbitrary price depending upon the seasonal fluctuation. The Sanchari Cauvery has impacted the market rate. The rate of water from private tankers has also come down.

Ram Prasath Manohar BWSSB Chairman

“Independent houses in the area have settled on groundwater through borewells. They find paying for the laying of BWSSB pipes and infrastructure unaffordable, especially since they do not see the need for a BWSSB connection, as they already have a steady source of water,” says Mirza.

He adds that they are being convinced about the rapid depletion of underground water and are being asked to opt for the Kaveri connection. The BWSSB is confident of reaching the target by convincing people. Meanwhile, areas with no connections or pipelines are being targeted by the Sanchari Kaveri scheme.

The scheme is a boon, but..

Arun Kumar says the Sanchari Kaveri scheme is excellent in its intent and spirit. He points out that the idea of instalments for payment through Sarala Kaveri is also a good idea. Many houses were built using home loans, and now the owners have to spend from their monthly salaries. They find it difficult to pay the huge amount at once, and the EMI scheme is a boon for them, he explains.

“However, only apartment officebearers cannot decide on connections to the apartment on everyone’s behalf; every resident has to agree, and everyone has to pay for it. This is taking time,” he admits.

“Old apartments in these areas have to convince all their residents to take the connection. This is taking time because not everyone wants to pay extra. Many do not live in the area, while many are happy with water tankers,” Mirza adds. However, slowly, everyone is being added to the BWSSB’s ambit.

The private water tanker networks pose a challenge to the adoption of the Sanchari Kaveri scheme because water is their primary business, and the BWSSB, which is an authorised parastatal, is now their competition.

Mirza explains the challenges: “Our water tankers have been blocked and staff threatened in some areas. We are trying to spread awareness about the scheme and convince private water supply folks.”

“Sometimes water tanker fellows try every trick in the book to convince us. They say the BWSSB may not be able to supply water continuously. BWSSB has to ensure that this does not come true,” says Arun Kumar.

He adds that the BWSSB is the sole water supply authority for the city that knows where the gaps are, so it can do a pretty good job of it. The data from the tankers can be used for future network expansion and demand management, he feels.

Interested can find the Kaverionwheels mobile app in the Google playstore.