The water crisis in Bengaluru continues to worsen with each passing day. As residents grapple with water shortage, the Karnataka government has swung into action to address the grim situation. 

The water scarcity in the IT city has proved to be a blessing for private water tankers, which are charging anywhere between ₹500 and ₹2,000 per tanker. This comes at a time when Karnataka government has warned the private operators that their tankers will be seized if they do not register by March 7. 

“For 6 months, this area has not received water from the corporation. They have given us Cauvery connections, which would have benefitted us. We have to book 2-3 days in advance for water,” Suresh, a local resident, told ANI.

“We have to pay Rs. 1600-2000 for one water tanker… We have to buy water, we have no other source of water… We do not have water even to drink. In the upcoming summers, we would have to face a lot of difficulties… We have pipes of Cauvery connections, but there is no water,” he added. 

Here are top 10 updates on the water crisis in Bengaluru

1. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has announced that the government will set up control rooms at Taluk level and also provide helpline numbers. “There will be district and Taluk level control rooms to face water crisis. A helpline will be created. The state government will take up all the measures to tackle the water crisis and will ensure that there is no shortage of funds,” PTI quoted the CM as saying.

2. What will the task force do? The chief minister said that the task forces at Taluk level will ensure drinking water, fodder for cattle and jobs for people. The task forces have so far held 646 meetings at the level. 

3. At least 412 panchayats in 98 taluks in the state are facing drinking water crisis. Water is being supplied through 204 water tankers in 175 villages, the CM said. 

ALSO READ: Govt to take over all borewells in Bengaluru to deal with water crisis

4. Siddaramaiah has accused the Centre of not releasing ₹18,712 crore to the state to face the challenge of drought situation. “We gave the first memorandum to the Centre on October 20, 2023 to release ₹18,172 crore for drought mitigation but till now the Centre did not give even a penny,” he said.

5. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said that out of a total 3,500 water tankers in the city, only 219 tankers have registered with the authorities. He warned others to register before the March 7 deadline or the state government will seize them. 

ALSO READ: ‘Borewell at my house also dried up’: DK Shivakumar amid Bengaluru’s water woes

6. According to an ANI report, the government officials have been asked to deploy unused milk tankers for water supply. The KMF tankers will be cleaned up before being deployed for water supply in Bengaluru. 

7. The officials have also been instructed to immediately operationalise all the drinking water centres which were not operational till now. The Bescom officials have been told to register all the borewells in use for agriculture and commercial use. “I am very seriously looking at it. I had a meeting with all the officials. We are identifying the points where water is available… More than 3000 borewells have dried up in Bengaluru…” Shivakumar said.

ALSO READ: Bengaluru apartment’s ‘no water’ alert to residents amid ongoing crisis

8. Shivakumar urged the people to use water judiciously and not use drinking water for gardens and washing cars. He added that treated water may be used for other purposes.

9. According to residents, the Cauvery river water pipeline has been laid in city’s Babusapalya but no water connection has been provided yet. The residents believe that if Cauvery water comes here, the water problem of the people here will be solved. The locals further added that the borewell has dried up as it has been without water for the past seven months.

10. A report by the revenue department has identified the most number of villages in Tumakuru district (746) and the most number of wards in Uttara Kannada. In Bengaluru Urban district, 174 villages and 120 wards are shown as vulnerable.

(With PTI, ANI inputs)