Bengaluru water crisis: BBMP, BWSSB to soon cap water tanker prices in city

Bengaluru: Noting a steep rise in water tanker prices over the last few weeks, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) have decided to regulate the price charged by the water tankers and will soon fix up a price in consultation with the water tanker suppliers. 

“It has come to our notice that the water tanker prices have surged drastically over the last few weeks. We understand that there is a need to cap the prices and hence, we will hold a meeting with the representatives from the industry and decide on a reasonable price,” said Tushar Girinath, BBMP Chief Commissioner.  

Girinath, however, assured that the prices will be fixed considering the pleas from both the water tanker suppliers and the consumers. That apart, to keep track of the number of tankers and their area of operation, the authorities have also mandated self-registration of all water tankers in the city. While only close to 50 to 60 tankers have obtained a trade license from the BBMP, the records from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) show that there are close to 3,500 water tankers in the city. 

“Hence, we need to know how many tankers are there in the city. However, we are not asking them to get a trade license but are only asking them to register with us,” Girinath said. The tanker suppliers have to register themselves with the BBMP between March 1 and March 7, failing which, the BBMP, with support from the transport department, will seize the unregistered vehicles post-March 7.  

BBMP has also invoked the National Disaster Management Act to manage the situation and the tanker suppliers who charge higher than the fixed rate will be booked under the act. 

BWSSB will soon procure 200 water tankers to meet the needs in the areas where there is an acute water shortage.

Of the 200 tankers, 100 tankers will be dedicated to supply water to the 110 villages on the city’s periphery which are yet to get Cauvery water supply. The other tankers will move around in the core areas. 

To improve productivity, the BWSSB has decided to set up high-density plastic tanks with a capacity of close to 5,000 litres in a few areas. 

“In many areas, people queue up to get water from tankers and this will reduce the number of loads each tanker can carry. Hence, the tankers will deposit the water in these tanks in the identified areas and people can get water from the taps attached,” explained Dr Ram Prasath Manohar V, Chairman, BWSSB.