In what may prove to be a major relief for citizens, the Water Board is planning to deliver drinking water tankers on the same day to customers. The move is aimed at reducing inconvenience to consumers in summer months, when the number of tanker bookings shoot up, increasing by about 20 per cent in a month.
As of now, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) operates 985 tankers which it uses to supply drinking water in Hyderabad. According to a senior official, each vehicle makes eight trips in a day, which puts the total number of deliveries over 7500 any given day, which includes both free supply of drinking water in slum areas.
With the day temperature rising by the day, the HMWSSB official stated that tanker bookings are expected to increase from the first week of March.
“To ensure that demand is met, each water tanker will make 10 to 12 trips in a day depending on the situation,” he said. For domestic usage, each tanker of 5000 litres costs Rs.400, and Rs.700 for commercial usage.
Even the 71 filling stations located at various points in the city, from where the HMWSSB water tankers are refilled for each delivery, might be kept open late to tackle the demand in summer, said the official. “As of now the stations are open up to 10 p.m. daily. In fact, we have also extended the tanker booking facility through IVRS for Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) consumers whose mobile numbers are registered with the HMWSSB,” he added.
According to data from the HMWSSB, in the month of January, a total of 47,858 tanker bookings were made, out of which 8,241 were for domestic usage and 31,393 were for commercial usage. Out of that, 46,610 were completed, while 1,248 were pending.
The data also showed that the highest number of bookings were made from division six, which includes posh areas like Banjara and Jubilee Hills, where 16,077 of the deliveries were made. Other two zones where water tanker bookings were high in January were from division 9 and 15 of the HMWSSB.
In division 15, which includes areas of Kukatpally, 12,587 bookings were made, while in division 15, which includes areas of Gachibowli, Madhapur and Miyapur, 7,549 bookings were made by the board.
