KOCHI: Apartment complexes and establishments relying on tanker services for potable water in Kochi could be in for a difficult start to the new year, if the decision of the suppliers is anything to go by.
The water transporters, who currently charge 10 paise per litre, are set to increase the tariffs for water tankers having a capacity of more than 18,000 litres by a whopping 100% from January 1. “It has been 11 years since we increased the rates. Even as all our operational expenses have skyrocketed, we are forced to go to distant places to collect water,” R Ramachandran, secretary of the Ernakulam District Drinking Water Transporters’ Welfare Association, told TNIE.
There are at least 450 tankers supplying potable water to apartments, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, hostels, corporate establishments, Coast Guard, Indian Navy, and even to the collectorate. The tankers -- with capacities ranging from 2,000, 6,000, 12,000, 18,000, 23,000, 25,000, 30,000 and 35,000 litres -- make at least five trips a day. Going by the proposed rate, an establishment using the services of an 18,000-litre tanker will have to shell out Rs 3,600 per trip. Five such trips could raise the cost of water to Rs 18,000 per day, besides service charge.
Eloor and Choornikkara panchayats had recently slapped stop memos to suppliers, preventing them from drawing water from wells near the Periyar.
“This is another reason for the hike in rates. We are now solely depending on the Kerala Water Authority and a few wells on the outskirts of the city to source water,” said V A Zakir Husain, president of the association.
Besides the shortage of drinking water, the increase in expenses such as fuel charge, vehicle insurance, road tax, spare parts price, wages and allowances for employees, and maintenance cost pose challenges to their profession, the water transporters said.
Meanwhile, the president of the Ernakulam District Residents’ Association Apex Council, Ranganatha Prabhu, said the Kerala Water Authority and the corporation have the responsibility to supply free water to all citizens in the city.
“We are worried that such moves will only lead to complete privatisation of the drinking water sector. The most-affected will be apartment residents as this will directly hit their annual budget. It is high time the apartment associations had a consolidated organisation platform to resist such undemocratic price hikes,” Prabhu said.