Amid falling groundwater levels and reduced drinking water supply, residents of several high-rises and gated communities in Hyderabad's western corridor are battling a sharp rise in water expenses, relying primarily on private tankers.
Affected areas
Areas such as Gachibowli, Kondapur, Nanakramguda, Nallagandla and Tellapur are among the worst affected. Residents here say they are booking up to 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh litres of water every one to two days to meet their daily needs, resulting in a spike in financial burden over the last two months.
Rising costs
Records show many communities in this belt spent around Rs 2 lakh on water tankers in March, which more than doubled to cross the Rs 5-lakh mark in April. "There are over 50 gated communities in our area. Many of them rely on two to three 50 KL tankers every day. With rising temperatures, most communities spent Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 daily on private tankers, taking the total monthly expenses to about Rs 6 lakh in April," said E Ramana, president of the Tellapur Neighbourhood Association.
Residents fear these costs will escalate further with more hot days in store for Hyderabad, along with forecasts of below-normal rainfall and early drying of borewells. Resident Welfare Associations say maintenance charges have already increased by over Rs 2,000 in most high-rise apartments and gated communities to meet water needs.
Supply reduction
"Earlier, we received around eight hours of water supply on alternate days. Over the last four weeks, this has dropped to about four hours every two days. As a result, we are forced to depend heavily on private tankers, paying nearly Rs 8,000 for a 50 KL tanker," said Ravi Shankar, president of the Federation of Gated Communities, Cyberabad. He added: "In April, we have so far spent almost Rs 10 lakh only on water tankers."
Price hikes by operators
Adding to their woes are rapidly rising rate cards from tanker operators, many of whom have tripled their prices. While the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) supplies 5 KL domestic tankers at around Rs 500, private operators are charging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 for the same quantity. "If we book in the morning, they charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 and deliver only in the night. But in urgent cases, this goes up to Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000," said J Karthik, a resident of Manikonda.
High demand
Despite the costs, the daily demand for water tankers has crossed 11,000 trips so far this summer, say water board officials, with over 60% of it being raised by residents of Durgam Cheruvu, Madhapur, Kukatpally, Serilingampally, Hafeezpet and Nizampet.
