Private water suppliers fleecing public

Kowkoor: Private water tankers in the city seem to be doing brisk business during summer in the Kowkoor area. Apart from the dried up bore wells, the meagre supply of water by the HMWSSB is another reason why people are being forced to buy water from the private suppliers. The duration of time for water supply by the HMWSSB has come down due to the increased demands, especially in summer by many residents of the area.

Residents of this area are paying more amount, especially, as the water supply time has been reduced. They are being charged Rs.1,000 for usage water and Rs. 1,500 on 5000 litres for drinking water which is supplied by these private players. "They know that people living there don't get proper supply from HMWSSB. There is no other option and drinking water tankers of the Water Board take a week to arrive after booking" says Vivek Kumar, a resident of Kowkoor, while speaking to The Hans India here on Tuesday.

"As the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) supplies water on every alternate day in some localities but not here. Residents are affected by the shut down and had to make alternate arrangements for water, as supply would resume in some areas. Private tanker operators also charged us more stating that there is a lot of demand" said Satya Prakash a resident.a

With the increase in number of residential buildings in the area, the water woes of residents are also increasing steadily every year. Insufficient supply of water is making the residents to depend on private water tankers.

According to private water suppliers, the officials of the Revenue Department are seizing their vehicles in the name of selling illegal water. Neither the government is supplying water regularly in this area nor they are permitting the private tankers to do so. The residents are fed up facing shortage of water issues.

By KIRAN KUMAR