Bengaluru: With temperature crossing 35 degrees Celsius, Bengalureans are now worried about the looming water crisis in the coming days. Several areas in Mahadevapua zone are facing severe water crisis. The residents of Bellandur allege that water tanker owners are now holding them to ransom.
“Only 55% of water needs are being met. The tankers say that if we do not enter into a deal with them to take specific number of tankers, they would not supply water. Cauvery water supply dwindled in the first week of March. We are short of two tankers and the water tanker operator in my area does not allow other private tanker operator to supply in my area,“ a resident said on condition of anonymity.
Mahadevapura residents have taken to social media to express their outrage. While school board examinations have begun, the water situation seems to have slipped out of government’s hands.
Jagadish Reddy, a lake warden, said the crisis was predicted a decade ago and if measures are not taken now, 2020 would be a year when tankers would reach only once a week. “Water depletion has gone beyond 1,500 ft and every day 70 lakh litres of water is pumped out of ground. While on the other hand the percolation rate stands at a dismal 0.75%. The senseless concretization of the Storm Water Drains (SWD) has brought us to this situation. Moreover, the water we receive is contaminated,” he added. As illegal borewells mushroom, the residents wonder whether the BBMP and BWSSB are serious about dealing with the water mafia.
