Water adalat, a concept started by the Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to resolve disputes related to water billing, delay in provision of water supply, sanitary connection and conversion from non-domestic to domestic connection, today is little known among the citizens residing at Akkipet and Chikkalalbagh area.
The adalat which is arranged on every first Wednesday of the month to solve the grievances of the public related to the mentioned water issues is a total waste of time since the people themselves are not aware about it at all.
With a plethora of problems concerning the public, the engineer seems to be least aware about what is happening. He refuses in the first place to accept the fact that there are problems related to water scarcity in the area. “If you could get me specific cases where people have water shortage or any other water related problem I would be willing to solve it,” says N Satish, executive engineer, BWSSB, Chikkalalbagh. He further adds, ”We are trying to ration as much as water possible, but if there are unforeseen circumstances like power cut, we cannot provide water.”
“Is the engineer even aware of our situation”, asks M G Anandaya, a resident. “I have never even heard about the Water adalat. If through this concept the BWSSB wants us to lodge complaints, then it is a waste of time. Usually we have four days of water supply per week. We have our own house so we store water in the tank on the terrace. But what about people who are living in apartments? Every day is a struggle since we have to store water for cooking, washing, bathing etc. We have been complaining for years now, but there has been no improvement. The people at BWSSB are very irresponsible. I have spoken to the engineer myself, but he himself cannot justify about the issue and is unable to give a concrete solution.”
If it is not the working class that is getting affected, then it is the house wives who have to face the brunt of the issue. Mrs Kala HN Rao, a shop owner says, “I am in the shop most of the time. So it is comparatively easier for me to manage water during the day.” But for house wives it is a big issue because they are at home and need water for cooking and other household purposes. They are suffering the most. Every day in the morning you will see many women carrying buckets to fill water at the local pipeline provided to this area since they do not get water in their taps.
In a city like Bangalore that is developing so rapidly this situation could be avoided. As far as Water adalat is concerned, I am neither aware about it, nor have I ever heard about it. But maybe there are people who know about the concept.
“To combat the problem the residents order for water tanks. But that effort comes with a price and sometimes without a guarantee. Mrs Radhika Srinath, a homemaker has to call a water tank at least once a week in order to suffice the daily requirement of her house. She also complains of how the water stagnates after light showers that Bangalore recently received.
“We get water every alternate day and hence to meet with the daily requirement we need to get a water tank once every week. However it would not have been so bad had the price for the water tank be fixed. The cost of a tank normally comes to around `350. But since it’s the summer season the prices have shot up to `500 and sometimes even more.
Another problem that has been a prime concern is about the water stagnation around the entire lane on which we reside. The manholes were constructed last year. Everything was alright for the initial months until they got ruined and now even with light showers the whole place gets flooded.”
When asked about the Water adalat, she adds,” I do not know anything about it. Are they even getting complaints?”