Haven't tasted Cauvery in 10 years!

Bengaluru: While Cauvery water sharing dispute may have raised passions among people in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the residents of Mahayogi Vemmanna road in Kaggadasupra have been waging a different battle for Cauvery water for the past ten years. Though they have got Cauvery water connections and the infrastructure in place, but there is no supply and they have to fork out huge sums for private tankers. The narrow road often gets blocked by these tankers and residents complain they are often driven rashly by underage drivers.

Of late, Cauvery water has been the talk of the town. It gets the spotlight every time things take an ugly turn between the 2 states. For those who live in the 60 apartments along Mahayogi Vemmanna road in Kaggadasupra, CV Raman Nagar, this subject has been a constant cause of concern every single day, for the past 10 years. That’s because the residents don't receive a reasonable quantity of it.

“We have the connections and infrastructure to receive Cauvery water but haven't for a decade now. We need it for basic drinking and kitchen purposes. At present all societies pay close to Rs 75,000 per month, to buy drinking water from tankers, but that is hard water. Some of us installed RO systems and we all know how much water is wasted that way,” said Venkatesh, an occupant.

Every morning and evening, a large contingent of tankers is seen occupying the entire road. Residents challenge the fact that many of them do not have license plates, documents, or driver's licenses.

“Each day, we see 70 to 80 tankers blocking the narrow road, causing school children to take as long as 25 minutes to cross. Many of these tankers are ancient, 1980 models driven in a rampaging way on a road that is sloping. I have seen small boys drive as well,” said a shocked resident.

These illegal private tankers that drive around so recklessly, with no supervision by authorities, caused a tragic accident 2 months ago. According to an eyewitness account by a resident, another occupant driving a two-wheeler, was behind a tanker which lacked proper brakes and was driven by a physically challenged man.

He reversed the vehicle carelessly and ran over the motorist. Complained Rasmita, “The rates of the tankers shoot up during summer. Despite paying so much, the water we receive has iron content. We can see a rusty, black coating in the vessels. Again, we are forced to spend on water softeners”.

DC spoke to Corporator, Arun Ravi, C.V Raman Nagar
Apartment residents on this road say they have not received Cauvery water in 10 years. Why?
The main problem is that this area does not receive enough Cauvery water, unlike the rest of the city. There are some 60 apartments here and they need too much water and we don't have a sufficient amount to meet their demands. We monitor Cauvery water that comes twice a week, and it is not enough for all of them.

Flat owners say that the independent houses receive Cauvery water but not them...
We are doing everything we can. The quantity is just not enough and they have to make do. I have been requesting with the BBMP to look into this issue for years now. The quantity of water is just too less to be given to the occupants of these apartments right now. It is true that it goes to independent houses and that is because they consume much less water.

Residents say the tankers are unauthorised, don't have license plates, and are driven recklessly by men without licences. There was even an accident once...
That is an independent issue that is generally looked after by the traffic police. Residents have not complained to me about any unauthorised tankers. I am sure they are all licensed, as there is no chance the police will let them enter the road without a number plate. The residents are not knowledgeable and assume this because of reckless driving. This is a thickly populated area and one accident happened. Within my power, I was only able to request the drivers to be careful.