Water crisis hits M’pura flats as tanker owners, villagers lock horns

Bengaluru: Multiple apartments in Mahadevapura are grappling with an acute shortage of water, as tanker owners supplying water from nearby villages are on a collision course with the villagers who are up in arms against what they term as excessive drawing of groundwater from their area to meet the city's requirements.
More than 50 water tanker operators from Hoskote are protesting forced power disruptions and mounting pressure from villagers of Muthasandra gram panchayat, Hoskote taluk, that have affected their operations.Their protests entered the fifth day on Tuesday.
Tanker owners have now sought the intervention of Mahadevapura Task Force chairman and former minister, Aravind Limbavali. Sources in the task force told TOI a committee was formed on Tuesday to look into this issue.
Citing a plummeting water table, residents under Muthasandra gram panchayat had earlier staged a protest, demanding that all commercial extraction of groundwater be stopped immediately. Last week, they met the Bengaluru Rural district deputy commissioner, pressing for their demand.
Speaking to TOI, RVN Babu, a representative of the water tanker operators' association, said: "We have been in this business for the last 12 years. No one ever disconnected our legitimate power supply. But now, suddenly, power has been cut off. Also, police often seize our tankers, citing permit issues, and confiscate the vehicles. We want power supply restored and immediate end to all harassments."
Manohar Reddy, the chairman of the task force, said: "The villagers are protesting because of depletion in groundwater level in their taluks."
Meanwhile, apartment residents in Mahadevapura have been urged to intensify water conservation efforts.
Prabhu Patil, the president of Rohan Vasantha Apartments, comprising 579 flats, said: "We mostly depend on water tankers for our daily needs since water from BWSSB and the borewell isn't sufficient. Now, because of this fiasco, we are forced to pay double for the water tankers."
Karthikeyan Ganesan, the secretary of Bengaluru Apartments Federation, Whitefield-Kadugodi cluster, said in Whitefield, there is no groundwater at all and 50% of the requirement is met by water tankers. Because of the strike, even basic needs such as washing dishes have taken a hit.
"Taking advantage of this, a few water tankers are selling water for double the usual price. At present, only 60% of our water needs are being met. It's as if the summer water crisis is back!"