People paying a hefty price for water here

People paying a hefty price for water here
Deccan Herald

Mr Jalakam said in Bangalore, the actual supply at tap was 540 Mld, while the source supply capacity was 900 Mld (a 45 per cent loss in supply). The total demand at tap is 600 Mld, way short of the source capacity.

Consider this. The monthly minimum charge for water that an urban household pays is Rs 115. For an urban poor family of six (three adults, three children), it could be around Rs 450. According to a recent study done by water engineer and USAID Contractor Anand K Jalakam — in Bangalore’s Lakshman Nagar slum — a typical urban poor family purchases 10 vessels of water a day (at Re 1 per vessel) and spends Rs 4.50 per day on toilet charges (Re 1 per adult/50 paise per child).

“Their daily expense on water is Rs 14.50, taking the monthly figure to Rs 450,” Mr Jalakam said on Thursday, while making a presentation on ‘Urban Water Services in India: Need for reform’ organised by the Bangalore International Centre. Water costs for the urban poor was one of the areas that Mr Jalakam highlighted in a subsequent discussion, presided by BMP Commissioner K Jairaj.

Mr Jalakam said in Bangalore, the actual supply at tap was 540 Mld, while the source supply capacity was 900 Mld (a 45 per cent loss in supply). The total demand at tap is 600 Mld, way short of the source capacity. “While the water intake, treatment and pumping, storage and transmission facilities work 24x7, the distribution, billing and collection facilities are flawed. Pilferage and poor plumbing practices worsen the situation,” he said.


Mr Jairaj said under-utilisation and theft of water were issues that warranted immediate redressal. “Better standards in professionalism, an incentive-driven work culture and a good enforcement system could help as we upgrade from Bangalore to Greater Bangalore,” he said.

The Commissioner said BMP was working on a Rs 500-crore project under JNURM to upgrade the City’s stormwater drains, under which sewage lines would be dismantled from the stormwater drains.

In-country benchmarking, private sector participation and water conservation were among the measures mooted in the discussion.