Mid-summer water woes for residents of apartments seem to be getting worse by the day. The municipal tankers are reportedly taking a long time to come and private tanker owners are using it to deliver on their terms.
With groundwater depletion made worse by lack of rain and municipal water supply not adequate to meet their needs, those dependent on tankers are having a tough time. In the 30 to 45 minutes municipal supply, for five to ten minutes the flow is very thin.
In areas like Muralinagar and Madhavadhara, yields from borewells or traditional wells have been reduced drastically.
Earlier, the tank used to be filled after switching on a motor for half-an-hour. “Now every time the motor had to be switched off and the water is muddy,” says a resident.
The only alternative left to meet the needs of apartment residents is to get tankers from GVMC or from private suppliers. The supply of 20,000 litres of tankers from GVMC is taking a wait of 10 to 14 days, which simply does not allow residents to meet their immediate needs.
Private suppliers are also taking a time of two days to provide the supply. But they are refusing to send 6,000-litre tankers that cost around ₹2,000. Till about a month ago, the small tanker supply had been made but now it was flatly denied. Even if it is available, the owners are jacking up the price to ₹2,500.
The only option left to residents is to order 20,000 litre tankers that cost ₹6,000 to ₹7,500. Not every apartment complex has the sump capacity to take big tankers.
With demand going up, the availability of tankers has turned difficult. In New Colony not getting tankers water supply is restricted to one to two hours in an apartment complex.
On Beach Road, even those who had bulk connection had to go in for tanker supply with the situation worsening during the last fortnight.
“How long we have to depend on the tanker supply paying a huge price?” asked a resident of Beach Road.
Supply hit
Water supply in parts of the city was disrupted on Sunday and Monday owing to a repair to Raiwada pipeline near NSTL. Supply was affected from Muralinagar to Kancharapalem owing to the repair. The supply was restored on Tuesday evening.
Sources in GVMC said there was no power supply from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Town Service Reservoir (TSR) in spite of having a dedicated feeder. The supply at the sub-station concerned itself was disrupted owing to the gales last night, it was learnt.
It also took time to replace the damaged transformers. Because of the disruption, supply could not be given at the stipulated time too, officials said. However, it would have helped residents if information was conveyed about the disruption.
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