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The water crisis in Bengaluru, India’s Garden City, seems to be getting worse.
According to media reports, despite the city administration’s intervention to stabilise inflated tanker water rates, there is still a shortage of water supply.
Karnataka’s capital city is facing one of the worst water crises in recent years due to poor rainfall last year.
The primary water sources for Bengaluru are the Kaveri river and groundwater, but with the shortfall in rain in recent times, these sources have been pushed to their limits.
Bengaluru needs about 2,800 million litres of water daily. The current supply is half.
For more than two weeks, the rise in the city’s temperatures – between 30 deg C and 34 deg C – has contributed to the water shortage.
“In the last 30 to 40 years, we have not seen such a drought,” said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who added that the government has taken control of the crisis and is working on solutions.
Water tankers have become a common sight on Bengaluru’s roads, but water suppliers are charging double-than-regular prices. The authorities have responded with fixed rates for supplying water to residential areas.
However, many residents’ welfare associations are complaining that the price cap has not been effective, as the water suppliers are still charging exorbitant prices. And people in need of water are forced to pay what is asked.
Residents have been complaining that they used to pay Rs800 for water tankers, but now the cost has shot up to Rs 2,000.
Also, getting water tankers is very difficult as they are booked well in advance.
To ease the people’s woes, the civic authorities have introduced treated water to replenish groundwater sources and bring the nearly 50 per cent dried up borewells back to life.
They also announced the construction of water plants in conjunction with the Indian Institute of Science, using innovative technologies near the restored lake beds.
While the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has set several rules – including a city-wide ban on washing cars and gardening with drinking water – resident, hospitality associations and education centres have also taken it upon themselves to play a part in saving water.
Companies are themselves scrambling to somehow manage the situation. Co-working space provider Urban Vault, for instance, installed smart water meters to detect leakage.
Other companies have taken to providing water efficiency education and training to its employees to raise awareness about water conservation.
Several people took to social media to urge Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to make work-from-home mandatory for IT companies.
Last week, a weather blogger from Bengaluru posted on X: “With sizzling hot days and severe water crisis prevailing in Bengaluru and no major rains in sight for the rest of the month, it’s high time the government of Karnataka considers work-from-home an option till the monsoon begins.”
“In the last 30 to 40 years, we have not seen such a drought.”
