As borewells go dry in Bengaluru, tankers too find it tough to get water
BENGALURU: Despite the government’s effort to bring water tankers under its ambit, water supply to parched areas in the city’s outskirts like Mahadevapura, KR Puram, Bommanahalli and RR Nagar will continue to be a concern as many private water tankers are now limiting the supply only to regular customers due to low-yielding borewells while some have stopped their business altogether.
Ravi Kumar, who has drilled a borewell on his site in Annasandra Palya and supplies water to areas like Shivananda Nagar, LBS Nagar, Gaffar Layout, Annasandra Palya, Vibhuthipura and surrounding areas in KR Puram assembly segment, said he stopped the business last month unable to meet the demand after his borewell almost dried up. “I used to supply to some apartments with a 13,000-litre capacity tanker. But this has stopped now. There is no source of water for the borewell and we have to wait for a good monsoon for underground water to recharge,” said Ravi Kumar.
Narrating a similar situation, Ganesh of Vibhuthipura, who supplies water to houses in a 5,000-litre capacity tanker, is witnessing low yield of water. The yield from 30 loads per day has come down to eight and he is not even attending calls from some regular customers. “We drilled over 500 feet and have been supplying water for almost a decade. For the first time, the borewell is witnessing low yield. I have asked my regular customers to call two days in advance to book as there are many in waiting,” said Ganesh.
Commenting on the situation, water conservationist and hydrologist Vishwanath Shrikantaiah said on one side the government is asking tanker owners to register with them and on the other, many tanker owners are exiting the business.
The tanker suppliers know who their regular customers are and it will not create any confusion. In many places, there is no source of water and with the existing sources, some tankers are managing to cater to their customers.
“How will the government do rationing? Tanker owners know their customers, if the government fails to handle the issue sensitively, the public will suffer, more tanker owners will exit and eventually the administration will also face consequences. Hence, instead of disturbing the existing tanker operators, the government should hire tankers from outside Bengaluru,” Vishwanath suggested.