With your mobile, book Cauvery water in tanker

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is all set to launch a "web-based mobile adaptive application" to rein in the water tanker mafia and soften the impact of water scarcity in the sweltering summer on Bengalureans with no piped water supply.

This will be designed to be a mobile-based application, the link of which will be available on the BWSSB website very soon.

The pilot, which is said to be launched in Bengaluru by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar by the end of March, will allow residents to book water tankers online and pay the pre-determined charges to get water within the stipulated time. The bigger benefit is that these tankers won't be supplying borewell water but Cauvery water that will be drawn from the 100-odd Cauvery water connect points, set up in areas where piped water supply is not available. 

Speaking to DH, BWSSB chairman V Ram Prasath Manohar, confirmed that the BWSSB has already completed the process of hiring 200 tankers for the initiative.

"These tankers, with a capacity of 6,000 and 12,000 litres, can make an average of eight trips per day. This will be first concentrated in areas, especially the eastern part of Bengaluru where people are still dependent on water tankers. Running on a "no profit, no loss basis", the new software will have an inbuilt mechanism where the cost of water and tanker cost will be pre-calculated and a charge will be fixed," said Manohar.

How does it work?

Manohar explains that, in the new system, everything is integrated into the software where bookings and payments are made digitally.

"This will eliminate middle-men who charge arbitrarily. A GPS will be fitted to every tanker wherein the consumer can track it and the GPS coordinates of the customer's delivery address will be obtained during booking. The customers will be sent an OTP and they will be supplied with water only after they share it with the tanker personnel. Water will be delivered only after they have given OTP. The software is such that an automatic enabled radio frequency identification (RFID)- enabled facility in the tanker will calculate how many litres have been filled," he said. The trials are underway.

He also said that the BWSSB intends to map the number of people living in apartments or individual houses in that particular area seeking water tankers because this will help them cap the booking and eliminate misuse of water.

Can you trust the quality of water?

The water filled into these tankers is of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified quality that eliminates contamination.

"The bookings must be done 24 hours in advance and the supply will start at 6 am and close at 10 pm. This is done to ensure the booking and supply chain is uninterrupted," he added. The BWSSB will use 50 water connect points in the first phase after the launch and the rest will be opened in phases.