For Bangalore water mafia, shortage is a boon

They know water is basic to life. For them a poor monsoon is good news as a shortage that is created would mean their businesses prospering. This is the water mafia in Bangalore, which plays on the miseries of the water-starved people to laugh all the way to the banks.

The water crises which keep recurring in the city in summer of almost every year are set to extend to one more month due to the delay in onset of monsoon in the city. But while Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) authorities, including minister S Suresh Kumar, are busy making false promises on mitigating the water crisis, it is the water mafia which is exploiting the situation by squeezing the residents to pay through their nose; that too without guarantee on the quality and quantity of water.

The news of ‘no water supply in the city’ is a boon for these private water suppliers. The residents who can afford to pay premium turn out to be their preferred customers.

But those who can’t pay up have only miseries to deal with. “We used to get water from Ganga Water Supply from June to February but they started avoiding supplying water on one or the other pretext. He (the water tanker owner) is demanding more than double amount to supply water,’’ said a resident of Maruthinagar.

BWSSB officials estimate that there are over 500 water tankers in the city which are owned by around 200 private water tanker owners. Each water tanker owner owns about two-three tankers which spread out to the nook and corner of the city’s outer areas to exploit the residents.

There is also a semblance of collusion between BWSSB officials and the private water tanker owners. The board has been utilising every available platform to announce that digging of borewells should be allowed only after a stringent process to ensure conserving the underground water table. But, nothing has been done to contain the water mafia from arbitrarily digging borewells from where water is sold to the residents in the name of ‘shortage’.

“Bangalore is facing acute shortage for drinking water for the first time. But it is a created one. With the Arkavathy water body drying up, there is no water source for Bangalore. The government cannot supply water from the Cauvery, situated around 100 km away,’’ says Kshithij Urs, director, Action Aid.

There is also none to check the quality of water supplied by the private water tankers. “Forget about the quality, there is none to check the quantity. We can’t afford to check the quantity of water because he (the private water tanker owner) will refuse to supply water to us,’’ says Sudharshan Rao, a resident of Maruthinagar.

Price? Yes! Timing? No!
What is proving to be an advantage to this mafia is an irritating and annoying factor - there is no mechanism to fix the price of water supplied through water tankers. It varies from day to day as the prices are fixed on whims and fancies of private water suppliers, who play a pivotal role in creating an artificial scarcity so that their business prospers in the background of the miseries of the water-starved residents. And this happens especially in the outer areas of the city where borewells have gone dry due to lack of monsoon and overuse of underground water which takes a very long time to replenish.

In the absence of regulations restricting them, the private water suppliers seldom honour commitment to supply water to their customers. Their mantra is this: Supply water to those who can pay premium. DNA learnt from some private water tanker owners that one can get a tanker full of water for Rs300 during monsoon and winter, but its price surges northwards depending on the demand for water - higher the demand, higher the prices that are arbitrarily fixed.

There is also no time-frame to supply water by private water tankers. Without exception residents across Bangalore, who have the misfortune to depend on water supplied by the private water tankers, say these tanker owners keep them waiting for hours, or even days on end to get the sump filled with water. “They keep telling us ‘the water tanker will be at your door steps within a few minutes’, but fail to honour the commitment. There are occasions when we have got water only the next day,” says a resident of Vignananagar, who refused to be named for fear of repercussions from the private water tanker mafia. “If we object to their behaviour, they curtly advise us to find an alternative source for water supply, and they know too well we can’t do that.”

Suspect service
Many allege that private water tanker owners are interested in collecting money from their customers and are least bothered about the quality of water, or even the quantity they supply. For instance, DNA found that the residents of Tata Nagar in Kodigehalli near Hebbal, are forced to add bleaching powder to the water supplied through tankers to ensure that the water is clean. “With the BWSSB failing to cater to our needs, we have to depend on private water suppliers. The water is not potable and we have to add bleaching powder to it. We have to buy drinking water,’’ says MG Narayana, a resident of Tata Nagar.

They too are involved?
The valve men appointed by the BWSSB on a contract basis to regulate water supply at various areas, never hesitate to exploit the water scarcity. There are many complaints against them for being corrupt and biased. There are areas where residents have to pay money to them to regulate water supply. “The valve man collects up to Rs100 from each house to operate the valve. He will not turn up if we refuse to give money to him. I have seen a few residents offering him tea or coffee, in addition to giving Rs100,’’ says a resident of Maruthinagar on condition of anonymity.

Free water supply? Hah!
Water tankers belonging to respective corporators or MLAs (their tankers carry their smiling faces) are often found assuring people that the water would be supplied free of cost.

While that may win smiles from the people (and hopefully even votes for the politicians doing this), the drivers and even cronies of these politicians, who transport the water, sell a whole tanker-full of water for as high as Rs650-750. “We cannot say for sure whether this is being done at the behest of politicians,” says a resident.

DNA, based on conversations with residents, discovered that drivers of privately owned water tankers commonly resorted to this in areas like Jeevan Bima Nagar, Indiranagar, CV Raman Nagar, Malleshpalya and Vignananagar. And this was happening despite the water being taken from respective BWSSB pump houses, and is being supplied to hotels as well as residences.

On being informed of this practice, T Venkatararaju, Engineer-in-Chief, BWSSB, said, “We will take action against those people who sell Cauvery water meant for distribution at free of cost.”

What they have to say
The private water tanker owners, however, are driven merely by the economics of selling water. Instead of admitting that residents do face problems because of their authoritarian behaviour in times of need, they try to justify what they are doing.

M Muniraju of MMR Water Supply from Vignananagar, says, “The depletion of ground water table is the main cause for the delay in supply of water or collecting extra money from the consumers. For example, one needs 30-40 minutes to fill a water tanker during monsoon or winter but it requires more than one-and-half hours to fill it during summer. The usage of more power means higher electricity bills. We have to pay wages to the drivers on weekly basis.’’

T Babu of Megha Sagar Water Supply from Domlur, blames it on an increase in power tariff that is working out costlier while drawing water from borewells to fill the tankers. “We used to supply 20 tanker loads of water during monsoon and winter but it has reduced to 10 water tankers in summer. I had to pay Rs65,000 towards electricity bill in summer as against Rs30,000 in monsoon and winter.”

But that does not explain why the residents have to be through problems.

Nothing can be done?
When asked about the water tanker mafia in the city, BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief, Venkataraju, said: “We are aware of it. But we have not taken any action against them due to the acute shortage for water at a few areas, especially in Bangalore East. If we seize those water tankers, other water suppliers try to exploit the situation since the residents have to depend on them for supplying water.”

He said efforts are being made to bring in 500 MLD (million litres daily) of water to the city within a few months. “We are leaving no stone unturned to complete the (Cauvery) fourth stage works. If all goes as per plan, we will supply 500 MLD water from Cauvery River by September. I hope that there will be no water-related problems in the city,’’ he assured.