Poor Bengaluru families spend ₹3,000 monthly on water, audit finds
The Water Satyagraha campaign warns of a 600 MLD water supply deficit in the city.
Economically weaker families in Bengaluru are spending a large portion of their income on water from private tankers, according to a preliminary audit by the Water Satyagraha campaign. The findings, reported by The Hindu, indicate that residents in slums often pay approximately ₹3,000 per month for drinking water.
Syed Ahmed Hussain, campaign convenor and KPCC vice-president, stated that this monthly cost exceeds the ₹2,000 assistance provided to women under the Karnataka government's Gruha Lakshmi scheme. He noted that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) lacks the authority to regulate the prices set by private tanker operators.
The campaign predicts the city will face a daily supply deficit exceeding 600 million litres (MLD). Currently, Bengaluru receives about 1,470 MLD of Cauvery water against a daily demand of more than 2,100 MLD.
Mr. Hussain said the city extracts groundwater at nearly double the rate of its replenishment and loses roughly 400 million litres of piped water every day. He also alleged that the BWSSB does not publish ward-wise data regarding pipeline leakages or water contamination, despite testing between 80 and 150 samples daily.
The audit also found that some middle-class families spend up to ₹54,000 annually on drinking water. Volunteers aim to survey 3 lakh households by March 2027 to submit their final findings to the state government.