Water Shortage Hits Hostels, Communities In Hyderabad

Hyderabad:Swimming pools are closing, taps used for washing cars are being shut off and some hostel residents have had to manage with water supplied at restricted hours. Hyderabad’s worsening water shortage is beginning to change daily routines across residential communities and commercial establishments. A private tanker strike on Tuesday further strained supplies, particularly in Madhapur, Gachibowli and Kondapur, while several residential colleges announced holidays until Diwali. Tankers returned to service on Wednesday but hostel operators warned that prolonged shortages could eventually threaten their ability to accommodate residents.

“Water is a basic need. When electricity fails, we can use a generator, but there is no alternative to water. If the situation continues, operating hostels will become a major challenge,” said Vellampalli Mahidhar, working president of the IT Corridor Hostels Association.

According to Mahidhar, nearly 90 per cent of hostels depend on commercial water tankers because municipal and Manjeera water supplies are insufficient. He estimated that around three lakh people were affected in the IT corridor and six to seven lakh across Hyderabad if the crisis continues in hostels. During Tuesday’s disruption, some hostel operators had to ration water in one‑hour intervals. A hostel accommodating 100 residents could require three tankers of 5,000 litres each during summer, he said.

Residential communities have begun restricting consumption in different ways. My Home Vihanga has shut its swimming pool for the next couple of months, while a notice circulated at My Home Avatar announced a temporary suspension of domestic water supply across all blocks from 2 pm to 5 pm to conserve underground reserves. The notice cited reduced supply from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the tanker strike, although clubhouse and sewage treatment plant supplies were to remain unaffected.

“We have around 500 flats in the society. It is definitely a difficult situation and we are purchasing water through tankers. We have restricted the use of certain taps where residents were washing their cars but drinking water and regular domestic supply have not been affected so far,” said Rajeev of Aparna Cyber Commune.

Further, circulars issued by a couple of private colleges in Madhapur cited the severe water crisis while announcing temporary holidays for junior and senior students until Diwali. When contacted, the institutions maintained that these were regular Diwali holidays.

“Most residential institutions have shut down until Diwali because of the water crisis, although the managements are not explicitly saying so,” said Venkat Sainath of the Hyderabad School Parents Association, adding that warnings about the impending shortage had been circulating for nearly a month and called for government intervention before more residential institutions and businesses were forced to suspend operations. Hotels and restaurants, meanwhile, have begun taking precautions, although the situation has not become unmanageable for them so far, according to industry representative Sailesh Mathur.

“We are putting up stickers asking people not to waste water and replacing taps with ones that shut automatically. We also have a sewage treatment plant through which water is recycled,” said Mathur. “It will be manageable till January, I believe.”

Nonetheless, Mahidhar called for alternative water sources, even at higher costs, as tanker operators increasingly depend on supplies from the outskirts, where local communities have objected to groundwater extraction. “We have managed to provide water around the clock, even during summer. Usually, shortages begin around March, but this year we are facing them in November itself.”