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The rapid rise in high-rise apartments and big colonies, as well as the increased construction activity, have put pressure on water supply and demands for tanker supply.

PRECIOUS COMMODITY: Congress activists protesting against water scarcity in Hyderabad on Monday. With temperatures above 40 degree Celsius, scarcity of drinking water has become commonplace.

HYDERABAD, May 6

WITH summer heat reaching scorching levels, the testing time for drinking water supply is being felt in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. As a result of water scarcity, tanker water sales are on the rise.

The Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMW&SB), which manages the water supply, sees a significant increase in their earnings, though the supply of tankers is a tough task.

The Board earned Rs 1.58 crore during 2001-02 and in the month of April the revenues were Rs 13.66 lakh, while in March it was Rs 18 lakh, according to Mr M.G. Gopal, Managing Director of the HMWS & SB.

In comparison, tanker sales have virtually doubled this April with the Board earning Rs 25.78 lakh. In the first few days of May, the collections have reached Rs. 3.47 crore. The demand is just going up, he said.

The rapid rise in high-rise apartments and big colonies, as well as the increased construction activity, have put pressure on water supply and demands for tanker supply.

For example, from the Autonagar reservoir on an average 100 tankers are supplied daily with an earning of Rs 2.5 lakh per month. In Jubilee Hills, one of the posh localities, tanker sales are averaging Rs 1 lakh a day, he said.

Referring to the strategy for water supply to the twin cities, Mr Gopal said, "Every citizen of Hyderabad this summer, can expect to get at least 100 litres of drinking water per day on average''. At least 250 tankers are being pressed into service.

Currently, the twin cities are being supplied 162 million gallons per day (MGD) up from 145 mgd last year. The State Government has spent Rs 30 crore in the past eight months to improve the facilities. It has also sanctioned an additional Rs 10 crore to meet the summer exigencies.

A total of 54-lakh population in Hyderabad and the neighbouring municipalities rely on the water supply provided by the Board. The reservoir levels in Osmansagar, Himayathsagar, Singur — the major suppliers of drinking water to the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are `comfortable' at present, Mr Gopal said.

"Even in the case of a delay in the arrival of monsoon by a week, we can manage but beyond that we may have to resort to withdrawal of the last layer of storage in the reservoirs, which would mean difficulties," he said.

The Board has also decided to send inspection teams to check the timings, quantity and quality of water supplied to consumers, who currently get alternate supply of drinking water. In recent random checks, the officials detected more than 200 electric motors being used illegally in various localities.

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