BENGALURU: Summer is yet to begin, but Bengaluru’s water woes have already begun plaguing a few localities, forcing residents to depend on expensive water tankers. VV Puram in Basavanagudi, Nanjappa layout in Shantinagar, Frazer town, Kalkere in Ramamurthy Nagar are some of the areas facing water shortage.
Residents have complained about water shortage and fear that it is going to get worse for them as harsh summer sets in.
Speaking to TNIE, Kochu Shankar, a resident of Kalkere, said,“There were four borewells in our locality and all of them have failed. BWSSB is supposed to supply Cauvery water for three days a week, but we get it for only three hours once or twice a week.
The pressure of water flow is low. We are depending on water tankers that costs us Rs 800 for 6,000 litres. It will get more expensive in the summers and the quality of water is also compromised. There is no facility of water tankers from BWSSB to our localities for reasons unknown.”
V V Puram which is part of old Bengaluru is not new to water woes from the past few months. V J Prasad, a member of RWA, said, “Despite the flow of water being low and no supply weeks, people still waste a lot of water washing cars and clean verandas of their homes. It is the biggest concern for our locality now. BWSSB must start imposing huge penalties like the previous year, for wasting water.”
Meanwhile, a resident from Nanjappa Layout in Shantinagar, Govindraj said, “I pay Rs 1,400 to get water from tankers. It is sufficient only for three days and I must pay again to get more. Being a pensioner, it is difficult for me to afford costly tankers. Last week, we didn’t receive water from BWSSB at all.”
Abdul Shakeeb, a resident of Fraser Town, said “localities around Fraser town like MM Road, Budh Vihar, St Stephen’s road and others have always had water issues as the pipes installed during the British era have corroded and cannot handle high pressure of water flow. Due to this, we have already started buying water from tankers.”