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Apartments, gated communities reel under water crisis; Dependency on tankers increases

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 14:33:00 +0000

Apartments, gated communities and residential complexes across the city are increasingly depending on water tankers to meet their daily needs as irregular municipal water supply and falling groundwater levels leave residents struggling to meet their daily needs.

The situation is particularly acute in the rapidly developing Madhurawada region, where several residential communities are receiving Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) water only once every two or three days. Borewells that once supplemented supplies are also drying up, forcing residents to buy water from private suppliers.

The rainfall deficit this year and low water levels in reservoirs have aggravated the situation, prompting apartment associations to hold emergency meetings and introduce measures to ration water. Several communities are urging residents to restrict consumption to essential needs and are looking at strengthening rainwater harvesting systems.

At Rohith Empire in Madhurawada, which has 40 flats, municipal water is being supplied once every two to three days, said its secretary Govardhana Naidu. “The 300-foot borewells have almost dried up, leaving residents dependent on two 20,000-litre tankers a week,” he added.

“The additional expenditure on tankers is more than ₹20,000 a month. We have also tried the GVMC helpline for tanker supplies, but the response has been mixed. On one occasion, the GVMC called back after nearly 24 hours, by which time we had already arranged a private tanker,” he said.

At Haritha Apartments near IT Hills Junction, the problem is on a much larger scale. Resident Govinda Rao said the complex has 710 flats in 11 blocks and receives municipal water once every two to three days.

“We are procuring tankers of 10,000 to 20,000 litres almost every two days,” he said.

At Lansum Greens in Madhavadhara, two of the five borewells have dried up, said resident and consultant engineer specialising in infrastructure and fire safety, Krishnamurthy Somayajula.

“We have 280 apartments and are getting bulk water from the GVMC, for which we are paying around ₹2 lakh a month. Rapid construction has turned the city into a concrete jungle, while this year’s rainfall deficit has further depleted groundwater,” he said.

Mr. Somayajula said rainwater harvesting should be made mandatory for buildings to improve groundwater recharge and reduce dependence on external water sources.

Some communities that recently faced acute shortages have seen improvement following GVMC intervention. Residents of MVV City in PM Palem staged a protest last week demanding action on the water shortage.

A resident said the situation had eased after the GVMC began supplying nearly 200 kilolitres of bulk water a day through tankers. Borewells and a few private tankers are being used to meet the remaining demand.

“The situation had become difficult earlier as private tankers had stopped coming. There is no major problem at present as the GVMC has been supplying bulk water,” the resident said.

At Oxygen Towers in Seethammadhara, residents are not facing an immediate shortage, but have been advised to use water cautiously.

Dr. James Adams, Director of Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Vizag, and a resident, said, “As of now, we are not facing a shortage of water, but everyone has been asked to use water cautiously”

Visakhapatnam Apartment Resident Welfare Association (VARWA) has already organised protests over the issue. Its secretary BB Ganesh said the authorities should have anticipated the situation and planned for the shortage in advance.

Mr KSR Murthy from AP Federation of Resident Welfare Association (APFERWAS) said the crisis highlighted the urgent need for water conservation, particularly rainwater harvesting, as the city’s built-up area continues to expand.

Published – September 20, 2026 08:03 pm IST

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Blueprint for Vizag’s water security may emerge during CM’s September 19 visit

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:29:00 +0000

An aerial view of the Mudasarlova Reservoir in Visakhapatnam with receding water levels amid a prolonged rainfall deficit.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

The ongoing drinking water crisis is set to take centre-stage during Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s proposed visit to Visakhapatnam on September 19. Local leaders are preparing to seek a comprehensive, long-term strategy from the Chief Minister to strengthen water storage and ensure water security for the city.

Speaking to The Hindu, TDP State president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao said: ”Yes, we are preparing to bring Vizag’s water issue to the notice of the CM during his visit to the city on September 19. There will be a possible meeting with all the major stakeholders.”

Highlighting a shift in planning he said; “Back in 2004, there was a proposal to spend ₹3,000 crore on building a pipeline from the Yeleru canal to prevent water evaporation, and reduce frequent desilting works. However, now our priority has changed. We want to invest such large amounts to creating dedicated water storage points for the city. This point will also be discussed in the meeting with the Chief Minister.”

History of vulnerability

Visakhapatnam has long faced recurring water shortages due to its heavy reliance on the erratic monsoon cycles. Because the city lacks perennial river sources within its immediate basin, a failed southwest monsoon regularly dries up local tanks like Meghadrigedda, triggering intense panic. This vulnerability was visible during the 2004–2006 drought, which forced prolonged rationing and left residents heavily reliant on erratic tanker supplies. Furthermore, rapid industrialisation—anchored by heavyweights like the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant—have increased pressure on the available water resources, leaving residential areas to bear the brunt of dry taps.

The 2027 Godavari Roadmap

To break the cycle of recurring water shortages, State authorities have mapped out an ambitious plan to bring the Godavari River water to Visakhapatnam via the Polavaram Left Main Canal by 2027. However, public skepticism remains high regarding its practical execution. Irrigation experts have also highlight strict hydraulic constraints that must be managed. Lift irrigation operations can only function effectively when the Godavari water level reaches a minimum height of 14 metres. Managing these minimum flow thresholds during lean periods is essential to keeping the inter-basin transfer project reliable and operational year-round.

Building a decentralised storage grid

Experts agree that long-distance canal transfers alone cannot secure urban taps without local retention systems. To solve this, officials have outlined a decentralised storage network across both sides of the Polavaram Left Main Canal.

This planned 27 TMC storage grid requires the integration of key storage nodes including—Tallapalem, Rangupolugedda, and Seshugedda in Yelamanchili, Cheedikada in Nakkapalli, Krishnapalem in Achyuthapuram, and urban reservoirs like Gambheram and Meghadrigedda.

According to irrigation officials, “The 2027 vision is a conditional equation. It will only succeed if lift thresholds, canal linkages, and the proposed 27 TMC storage grid are properly synchronised.”

Published – September 16, 2026 09:59 pm IST

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Install aerators, use drinking water judiciously, BWSSB tells citizens

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 19:19:00 +0000

The BWSSB has issued three orders on Saturday — mandating aerators on all taps in public places, a ban on the use of drinking water to fill swimming pools, and mandating the use of treated water for non-drinking purposes like washing vehicles, gardening, construction, fountains, all non-drinking uses in malls and film theatres, laying roads and cleaning.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

As the monsoon is expected to be severely deficient this year, following El Niño, and groundwater levels are going down in Bengaluru, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has reintroduced water conservation norms it brought in during the crisis of the summer of 2024.

Manjula N., Chairperson, BWSSB, said that only judicious use of water and its conservation today can guarantee a water-secure future tomorrow, and these measures were the need of the hour.

Given a severe monsoon deficit this year, with water levels in reservoirs already running low, the summer of 2027 is expected to be parched, like in 2024, preceded by a failed monsoon in 2023.

Unlike last time, when water conservation measures were put in place during the summer crisis, the BWSSB has resorted to the same measures this time during the monsoon itself.

Even before the monsoon, the BWSSB requested the Indian Institute of Science to study the predictive analysis of the groundwater situation in the city. The IISc report predicted a water shortage in 65 wards in the city due to groundwater depletion during the summer of 2026.

Deficit rains during this monsoon will only worsen the situation further in the coming days, sources said.

The BWSSB has mandated the installation of aerators/flow restrictors that save the use of water by 30% to 50% on all taps in public spaces like malls, apartments, commercial complexes, hotels, government offices, and religious places by July 31, failing which the Board has warned water supply will be cut by 50% to such consumers, a fine of ₹5000 will be levied and an aerator installed and its cost recovered from the consumer.

Likewise, any violation of the ban on drinking water for swimming pools and other non-potable uses will also attract a fine of ₹5,000. Swimming pools where sportspersons prepare for national and international-level sports are exempt from this rule.

What BWSSB has said

Use aerators on all taps in public places

Do not use of drinking water to fill swimming pools

Use treated water for non-drinking purposes like washing vehicles etc.

Published – July 05, 2026 12:31 am IST

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Wastage Of Drinking Water Will Draw Steep Fine In Bengaluru

admin — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 17:57:54 +0000

Bengaluru:

The city of Bengaluru, after suffering massive water crisis last summer, has announced that wastage of drinking water now will draw a steep fine. The use of drinking water for other purposes – including car wash and gardening — will draw a fine of Rs 5000, the city water board said. There will be additional penalties for repeat offenders.

A communique from the board read, “The use of drinking water for activities such as vehicle washing, gardening, construction, decorative fountains, entertainment purposes, and any non-drinking purposes in cinema halls and malls, as well as for road construction and cleaning, is strictly prohibited within Bengaluru city”.

“Violators will be fined Rs 5,000 under Section 109 of the Water Board Act, with an additional penalty of Rs 5,000 for repeat offenses, plus Rs 500 for each subsequent day of non-compliance,” the water board has announced, asking residents to report violations by contacting the call center number 1916.

The note said groundwater levels have already significantly declined with rising temperatures and a lack of recent rainfall. On Monday, Bengaluru reported a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius.

Reports from IISc scientists warn of a potential water shortage in the coming months, the board said.

Bengaluru had faced massive water crisis last summer after a year of failed monsoon. Half of its 14,000 borewells went dry and the city had faced a shortage of 300-500 million litres a day.

Bengaluru requires nearly 1450 MLD (million litres per day) of water from the Cauvery, as well as an additional 700 mld from groundwater resources.

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Water Crisis Threatening Half Of Global Food Production: Report

admin — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 23:10:29 +0000

Paris:

Inaction on the water crisis could put more than half of the world’s food production at risk by 2050, experts warned in a major report published Thursday.

“Nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are now in areas where total water storage is projected to decline,” said the report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW).

The report also warned the water crisis could lead to an eight percent drop in GDP on average for high-income countries by 2050 and as much as 15 percent for lower-income countries.

Disruptions of the water cycle “have major global economic impacts,” said the report.

The economic declines would be a consequence of “the combined effects of changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures due to climate change, together with declining total water storage and lack of access to clean water and sanitation”.

Facing this crisis, the report called for the water cycle to be viewed as a “global common good” and for a transformation of water governance at all levels.

“The costs entailed in these actions are very small in comparison to the harm that continued inaction will inflict on economies and humanity,” it said.

While water is often perceived as “an abundant gift of nature”, the report stressed it was scarce and costly to transport.

It called for the elimination of “harmful subsidies in water-intensive sectors or redirecting them towards water-saving solutions and providing targeted support for the poor and vulnerable”.

“We have to couple the pricing of water with appropriate subsidies,” said the World Trade Organization’s Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a co-chair of the GCEW, during an online briefing.

Another co-chair, Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, insisted on the need to see water as a global problem, to “innovate and invest” to solve the crisis and “stabilise the global hydrological cycle”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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AAP’s Atishi In ICU After Blood Sugar Levels Drop Amid Hunger Strike

admin — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 03:35:29 +0000

Atishi’s hunger strike began on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi

New Delhi:

Delhi Minister Atishi has been hospitalised after her health deteriorated due to her indefinite hunger strike over the water crisis in the national capital, her party said on Tuesday.

In a post on ‘X’, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the 43-year-old water minister was admitted to the emergency ICU at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital after her blood sugar level dropped to 36.

“Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days,” the AAP said and posted pictures of Ms Atishi being taken to the hospital.

“She’s been admitted in the emergency ICU at LNJP. We pray for her speedy recovery,” it added.

Water Minister Atishi’s health deteriorates

Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days and is on an indefinite hunger strike… pic.twitter.com/nl5iTfnwnT

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 24, 2024

Ms Atishi, who began her hunger strike on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi, has demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Haryana release water for the national capital. She has accused Haryana of depriving nearly 28 lakh people of Delhi by releasing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water.

ALSO READ | Amid Delhi Water Crisis, AAP’s Appeal To Haryana On “Humanitarian Ground”

“There are 2.8 million people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” she said on Monday, the fourth day of her fast.

“My blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping and my weight has gone down. Ketone level is very high which can have harmful effects in the long run,” she said in a video message posted on her official X account.

अनिश्चितक़ालीन अनशन का चौथा दिन- जलमंत्री आतिशी का दिल्लीवालों के लिए संदेश

-Posted by Team Atishi#PaaniSatyagrah4thDay pic.twitter.com/Fc8hkdjtXB

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) June 24, 2024

No matter how much my body suffers, I will continue the fast till Haryana releases water, the AAP minister said.

Atishi Lost 2 Kg In 4 Days: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said that Atishi has lost about 2 kg weight in the four days of her indefinite fast.

In a statement, the party said, “Water Minister Atishi’s weight is decreasing unexpectedly. Before sitting on hunger strike on June 21, her weight was 65.8 kg which has come down to 63.6 kg on the fourth day of the hunger strike. That is, her weight has decreased by 2.2 kg in just four days,” the statement said.

ALSO READ | Atishi, Raghav Chadha Meet Arvind Kejriwal In Jail, Discuss Water Crisis

The party also said that her blood sugar level has decreased by 28 units on the fourth day as compared to the first day of the hunger strike.

Earlier on Sunday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena held a meeting with a delegation of AAP leaders and said that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has assured that he will look into whether his state can provide extra water to the city.

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AAP Ministers Seek Urgent Solution Of Delhi Water Crisis In Letter To PM Narendra Modi

admin — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 07:13:00 +0000

File photo

New Delhi:

Delhi cabinet ministers have written a letter to Prime Narendra Modi and urged him to resolve the water crisis in the national capital on a priority basis, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Monday.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi cabinet ministers said Ms Atishi’s indefinite fast has entered the fourth day and her health is deteriorating.

The ministers held a meeting at the hunger strike site in Jangpura’s Bhogal, where they decided to write a letter to the prime minister seeking a solution to the issue.

“We also invite Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena, all officers to Wazirabad, Bawana to see the readings of flow metres and see the water levels of the river there. Data is available for the water released by Haryana and they can see for themselves how the water has reduced,” he said.

Asserting that Delhi should get its due share of water, the minister announced that in the evening a candle light march will be carried out in support of Ms Atishi’s indefinite fast.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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“Matka Phod” Protests By Congress Amid Water Crisis In Delhi

admin — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 07:35:01 +0000

Water Minister Atishi had said on Friday that water production in Delhi was decreasing.

New Delhi:

Amid a water crisis in the national capital, the Delhi Congress held ‘matka phod’ protests across the city on Saturday with its members smashing earthen pots to the ground.

The protests began around 10 am in all 280 blocks in Delhi.

Carrying earthen pots on their heads and Congress flags, the protesters raised slogans against the Delhi government and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Later, they threw the pots on the ground.

Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav, who also joined the protests, demanded a special session of the assembly to discuss the issue.

He had alleged on Friday that the Delhi government had not taken effective steps to address the water shortage in the city due to which, people had to run after water tankers.

Water Minister Atishi had said on Friday that water production in Delhi was decreasing continuously as less water was reaching the Yamuna river here.

The AAP government has been accusing BJP-ruled Haryana of not releasing Delhi’s share of water.

Sharing data, she had said water production on June 6 was 1,002 million gallons per day (MGD) and it declined to 993 MGD the next day and 990 MGD on June 8.

It was 978 MGD on June 9 and 958 MGD the next day. On June 11, 12 and 13, water production was 919 MGD, 951 MGD and 939 MGD, respectively, the minister had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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