Water tankers struggle to meet demands of Bengalureans this season

Water tanker owners are turning down requests from Bengalureans this season as even they can’t find water to meet the demand. They say borewells are running dry.

R K Water Supply in Indiranagar has been receiving around 50 calls per day, up from 15 to 20 calls last year. When Metrolife called its owner Guna S on Thursday, he said he had run out of water to supply.

Some of them have increased their rates to cash in on the demand. Sree Vinayaka Water Supply, Jayanagar, has revised their rates from Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 for an order of 6,000 litres. Owner Anil Reddy says: “The calls have increased by 10 to 15 times. We have increased the rates because new customers are calling up from locations beyond what we usually service. That adds to the fuel cost.”

Tankers are also hiking their prices because they now have to head to distant locations to find water. “In areas like Horamavu and T C Palya, most borewells have dried up. So local vendors are heading to far-off locations like Indiranagar to fetch water. Increased distance and extra fuel cost are the reasons for the price hike,” says Guna.

The calls coming to Shiva Siddhi Water Supply, Mathikere, have doubled since last year. Earlier, they would fulfil orders on the same day but now they are postponing by a day. Madhumathi Arunkumar, proprietor of the tanker, says, “We are even getting requests from areas like Nagarbhavi and Abbigere, which we don’t service. These are 7 to 12 km away from our location. We had to turn down these requests because we can’t find water to cater to new customers.”

Services like Sanjaynagar-based Sri Balaji Water Supply are declining requests simply because the destinations are too far. “We used to receive 15 to 20 calls per day earlier. Now, we are getting 150 to 200 calls daily. We are getting calls from Whitefield but that’s too far,” says Velu, the owner.

Need water? Call 1916

BWSSB has 68 government-run tankers and 100 rented tankers in its fleet. “People can call 1916 and inform the helpline if their area has a water shortage. We can’t fill the sumps but will supply enough water to meet basic needs,” says BWSSB chairman, Ram Prasath Manohar.

This season, BWSSB has installed around 150 tanks in slums and low-income neighbourhoods. “Our tankers will fill these tanks at regular intervals,” he says.