Bengaluru: Water tanker price goes up as summer reaches its peak

Bengaluru: As summer reaches its peak in the city, the price of water tanks are increasing day by day. For the supply of 6,000 litres of water, the cost is between Rs 500- 900. The cost depends upon the proximity as well as the locality.

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) provides piped water to 7.4 lakh houses by pumping 1,440 MLD of water from Cauvery, so it is insufficient in the areas which receive Cauvery water and thus, residents are dependent on water tankers.

Whereas, around 110 villages in the peripheral area of the city are dependent on borewell water or water tankers as they are yet to receive Cauvery water. But as the bore wells are drying up in many areas, the latter remains the only option to meet their water requirements.

Although it is an expensive affair, there is no assurance on the quality of water supplied through the tankers. There are around 1,200 tankers in the city but only 200 have got trade licenses from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagra Palike (BBMP). A proposal was also made to check the water quality which has not been brought into practice yet. There also came a proposal to draw the price list for water tankers but this has also not been implemented.

Sandeep R, a resident of Whitefield, said, “Even after paying a hefty price, we don’t get a water tanker according to our time of requirement. As the water dried up during the day, I called up the water tank hoping that my sump will be filled up by evening. But I was shocked to hear that I need to wait for several hours or sometimes, a day or two, for the water supply. This is a clear indication of harsh days ahead.”

However, water tanker operators have a different story. A water tanker driver said, “The prices have increased as we have seen a huge spike in diesel prices. Added to this, the electricity bills have also gone up and we are charged more at the borewell point. Since many bore wells are drying up, there had been a huge demand for tankers. We need to wait for hours to get the water tank filled up and as we have too many people to cater to, there is an obvious delay in supply of water.”

BWSSB stated that as last year saw a good rainfall, there is no shortage of water in the reservoirs. There is 23.23 TMS storage of water in KRS and 9.15 TMC in Kabini. As the city requires 1.6 TMC of water every month, it would require nearly 5 TMC for summer months and that amount of water is available in the reservoirs. The Cauvery fifth phase is expected to be completed in the year 2023-24.