Water tanker bookings in Hyderabad surge 36 per cent due to poor rainfall

Water tanker bookings in Hyderabad have surged by 36 per cent due to poor rainfall. HMWSSB held an emergency meeting to handle rising demand. CM Revanth Reddy warned of higher tanker rates for homes without rainwater harvesting pits within ORR limits.

Hyderabad: Water tanker bookings are now rising in the city due to a lack of sufficient rainfall. Alerted to this trend, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) held an emergency meeting with the officials on Tuesday at Khairatabad.

The HMWSSB Managing Director, K Ashok Reddy, directed the officials to chalk out plans to meet the demand.

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“All officials have been asked to be more vigilant on tanker booking deliveries. The groundwater levels significantly dipped in several parts of the city due to the lack of timely rains over the past three years and insufficient rainfall by the third week of July this year,” said the Water Board official.

Due lack of sufficient rainfall, the dependence on tankers increased by 36 per cent compared to last year, and possibilities are more to rise further, the Water Board official cautioned. “We have to gear up for the preparations to supply water through tankers accordingly,” he added.

Explaining the tanker demand and supply, Ashok Reddy said the water is supplied through 1,135 tankers within the jurisdiction of the Water Board, in two shifts. Mostly, the tanker bookings are being received from Divisions 6 (S R Nagar), 15 (Hafeezpet), 9 (Kukatpally), 18 (Manikonda), 22 (Nizampet), and 10 (Sahebnagar).

Tankers are filling the water at 140 filling points through the 88 filling stations. Last year, between July 1 and 14, there was a demand for 63,724 tankers, whereas this year (July 1 to 14), consumers booked 86,520 tankers, marking a 36 per cent increase from the previous year, the official explained. Of the 14 lakh water connections within the HMWSSB limits, only 42,000 households are booking the tankers, he added.

The Chief Minister, A Revanth Reddy, has already appealed to construct rainwater harvesting pits on every premise over 300 yards within the ORR limits. The CM also warned that they would not hesitate to increase the tanker rates for those without rainwater harvesting pits, as stated by the MD.