The parched landscape of the city, where borewells are failing and piped water is running low, is seeing booming business for private water tanker operators.
Several private tanker operators told The Hindu that the demand was particularly high in outlying areas. Narasimha Murthy, who operates a 6,500-litre tanker in Banashankari III Stage, said February had seen a rise in demand that is usually observed mid-March. “The number of trips made has gone up five folds, to around 12 trips a day, primarily because of the demand from households,” he said.
Similarly, at Chikkabanavara, off Bagalakunte, the skyrocketing demand is seeing Rajan run his two tankers in shifts of nearly 19 hours a day.
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“A month ago, our tankers were delivering just nine loads (58,000 litres) a day. Now, our tankers provide around 22 loads (1.43 lakh litres) daily to households. The demand continues to rise despite there being around 30 tanker operators in the area,” he said.
In Magadi Road, failing borewells are seeing even water tanker operators struggle. Shivakumar, who owns a tanker, said though the demand had touched 15 loads (around 97,500 litres) a day, he could supply just around 10. “The borewell we fill up from has started to fail and we get water only at night,” he said.
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The growth of private water tanker business — and consequently, the illegal large-scale tapping of domestic water for commercial use — has gone largely unchecked, with civic authorities claiming they are powerless to curtail this.
What is clear is that tankers are increasingly being looked to in times of crisis. By peak summer, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will have a fleet of 168 water tankers that will provide water in emergencies. “These will cater to households in slum and areas where people cannot afford to get private tanker water supply,” said Kemparamaiah, BWSSB engineer-in-chief.
Keeping an eye on illegal water connections
Seen a neighbour stealing water from a pipe? Time to call in the authorities.
Reviving the concept of vigilance squads, the BWSSB has set up a five-member team to answer complaints — keeping it anonymous throughout — and filing police complaints against those “causing them commercial losses”.
So far, based on these calls, 17 criminal cases have been filed for water theft and unauthorised connections, in Bommanahalli and Talaghattapura police stations. A further 25 cases from Marutinagar area are being filed as ground inspection confirmed water theft, said an official who is part of the five-member vigilance squad. A majority of the complaints received pertained to individual households.
The attempts by the BWSSB to contain unauthorised connections have been ad hoc so far. However, Mr. Kemparamaiah said this squad would remain. “We will expand it to two divisions to handle the volume of complaints,” he said.
The squad can be contacted on 9448796619 or 8050545425.