Come summer and the city almost always expects to face a water crisis, but this year despite the drought in the state and the depleting storage of the Cauvery dams, the BWSSB claims it is not rationing Bengaluru’s water supply as yet.
But what then explains the shortage that people are complaining about in several localities? While until recently only eastern parts of Bengaluru, at the tail end of the supply chain, were running dry, with the summer peaking, people in the core parts of the city too are now complaining of being supplied water only twice or thrice a week as against every alternate day.
Says Mr Narayanasa, who owns a building in Chamrajpet, “The water supplied by the BWSSB is very irregular in our area. And as most flats in the building have relatives pouring in for the summer vacation, we are running short of water."
“We were getting water once a week. But from the past few weeks we are not getting any at all,” complains Mr Gopal Krishna of Ramamurthy Nagar.
A homemaker from Cottonpet, Ms Jagadeeshawari, also complains of irregular water supply in her area. “We got water every alternate day until recently, but now the BWSSB is cutting down even the length of time that the water is supplied for. While we got water for about an hour in the past, now we get it only for a few minutes,” she grumbles. But says a more practical Vinutha of Rajarajeshwari Nagar, “The BWSSB may be supplying the same amount of water, but we tend to use more of it for bathing, coolers and so on and this has left us short of it.”
Ask BWSSB chairman, Tushar Girinath about the complaints and he categorically denies there is any water rationing in the city. “We usually supply between 1350 to 1,400 MLD of water to the city every day. But now we are supplying 1,300 MLD. Reducing 50 MLD from the supply chain cannot make a big difference,” he insists, adding that the dams have enough storage to cater to the needs of Bengalureans until June 20 when the monsoon will hopefully arrive to fill them up again.
Water expert and urban planner, S Vishwanath agrees that the Cauvery reservoirs have enough water to last the city for a few weeks more. But he believes they will start running dry by June 15. “With the meteorological department predicting a monsoon, which will be 96 per cent of normal, the situation does not look very bleak. But we will need more rain in the Cauvery catchment area in the first half of June to improve the inflow into the dams, “ he explains.
For now, however, he believes, the board can do without water rationing. Coming down hard on private tankers for fleecing people who are facing a shortage of water in some areas of the city, Mr Vishwanath says it is upto the BBMP to regulate them and make sure they charge reasonably.
How much water is left in the Cauvery dams?
As on May 1, the Krishnaraja Sagar dam had 3.5 TMC, Kabini 0.12 TMC, Hemavathi , 1.5 TMC and Harangi, 1.18 TMC going by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.
How long will their water last ?
Water experts say the Cauvery dams have enough to last the city till June 15. Bengaluru needs 1.5 TMC a month.
How much are the private tankers charging ?
The tankers charge Rs 600 to Rs 700 a load for regular customers and bulk consumers in 110 villages and core areas of the city, but double their rates for others. The rates also vary according to demand.
We were getting water once a week. But from past few weeks we are not getting any water at all, Mr Gopal Krishna, a resident of Ramamurthy Nagar.
We aren't facing any water shortage as we are not only dependent on Cauvery water alone, we have our borewell. Whenever the tank levels fall below a certain limit our borewell machine automatically turn on and fills the tank, Mr Ventakesh M, a resident of Srirampuram.Supply is irregular in our areas. We used to get water every alternate days and the quantity was enough for us. But now BWSSB has reduced the water time. Earlier we used to get water for about one hour but now has reduced to few minutes, Ms Jagadeeshawari, a homemaker, Cottonpet.
BWSSB may be supplying the same amount of water. But during summer to beat the heat, we tend to use more water than usual for bathing, coolers etc and this results in water shortage Ms Vinutha, a resident of Rajarajeshwari Nagar.
Regulate private players: Residents
Summer is harder than for most of Bengaluru for the 110 villages on the city's outskirts, which still do not have piped water supply. While households that have borewells are less affected, the others have no choice but to depend on water tankers, which, smelling an opportunity, are charging double their usual fee to meet their requirements.
People in some core areas of the city, that are also facing a water shortage, complain of being fleeced as well, saying the tankers that charged them Rs 500 to Rs 600 a load, are now demanding anywhere between Rs 1200 to Rs 1500 for it.
"We don’t have a borewell in our grounds and so depend on private tankers for our supply. While in the past they charged us Rs 500 a load, they are now demanding double this knowing that we have no choice but to pay up,” says Mr Narayanasa of Chamrajpet, stressing that the authorities need to bring in some sort of mechanism to regulate the private tankers and stop them from overcharging their customers.
But ask BWSSB chairman, Tushar Girinath and he says the board cannot act in the matter. "Under the BWSSB Act, we do not have any powers to control groundwater exploitation or the private tankers. But we have written to the BBMP to take action against the tankers that are charging exorbitantly," he assures
‘BBMP asked to take action against tankers’
Tushar Girinath chairman, BWSSB
Q: Many pockets of the city are short of water. Have you begun rationing unofficially ?
A: No we haven't resorted to water rationing. We usually supply between 1350 to 1,400 MLD of water to the city every . But now we are supplying 1,300 MLD. Reducing 50 MLD from the supply chain cannot make a big difference.
Q: Do the Cauvery dams have enough water till the monsoons for supply to the city ?
A: The city will not face any water shortage. Already intermittent rain has increased the inflow into the dams. We have enough water to cater to the city upto June 20 and will not resort to water rationing.
Q: What are you doing to take the message of water conservation to the people?
A: Instead of spending lakhs on paper advertisements, this year on World Water Day we launched a door- to- door Save Water campaign. It includes street plays, creating awareness on how precious water is and methods to conserve it like rain water harvesting. Mr Shivakumar, who is principal investigator on the RWH project with the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) is leading the campaign.
Q: Tankers are over-exploiting the groundwater and charging exorbitantly. Is the board doing anything to control them?
A: The BWSSB cannot control tankers, but I have written to the BBMP to take action against those that are fleecing the people and explore ways to control their over- exploitation of groundwater. It could fix meters, for instance.
