Pvt tanker owners make quick bucks as parts of city reel under water shortage

Hyderabad: While Government and opposition are locking horns on the issue of who did greater injustice to the people of Telangana in regard to sharing of Krishna waters, private tanker owners have started fleecing the people as the demand for drinking water is growing.

Even as summer is yet to set in fully, many areas in the city are facing water shortage and a situation has arisen where they have to depend on water tankers. With the Water board failing to meet the growing demand, people are forced to purchase water tankers from private parties. Taking undue advantage of this, private tanker owners have hiked the charges abnormally.

While the charges for a tanker by water board are just Rs 500 for domestic water and Rs 850 for commercial use, private tankers charge Rs 1200 to Rs 1500. Still the administration has not taken any action to stop see that people do not have to pay high rates. In the past two weeks, there has been a rise in the bookings for water tankers especially in the western and southern parts of the city that includes, Nizampet, Bachupally, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Kukatpally Jeedimetla,Bollarum, Madhapur, Charminar, Nampally and Red Hills.

The local people told Hans India that the rise of water tankers increased due to erratic water supply in most parts of the city and though the water department claims that they supply water within 48 hours but that is not happening due to that locals are forced to depend on private tankers.

“Every summer we face the same problem but in the month of March and April but this time water crises has arisen as early as January end. Municipal water supply in our area is very irregular and we are receiving water once in every five dayssaid Sai Teja , resident of Nizampet.

"We have been getting two tankers per day since the beginning of this month and yet facing a crunch. The supply from our bore wells is not sufficient to meet our needs, as the groundwater level has decreased very early this year,” said T Krishna, resident of Nallagandla.

People of Bachupally said, “In our areas, it has been more than ten days there has been acute shortage of water as there were some technical issues with the motor of the pump house but water board did not attend to the complaint. "With the poor supply of water, we have been forced to depend on private water tankersand they have doubled the rates. We have lodged a complaint on several occasions to increase water frequency in our areas and urged them to take stern action on private tankers, but authorities never bothered to act.