Water shortage hurts businesses
BENGALURU - Bengaluru’s acute water shortage is slowing production at its garment factories, doubling restaurant water bills and forcing managers at some global firms in “India’s Silicon Valley” to accommodate unusual employee demands.
The southern Indian city is home to about 14 million people, thousands of startups and international firms from Walmart to Alphabet’s Google.
“My team is skipping meetings to chase water tankers,” a senior employee at Dell said on condition of anonymity, lamenting the hit to productivity.
The shortage, caused by weak southwest monsoon rains that failed to replenish depleted groundwater and the Cauvery River basin reservoirs, has already forced residents to ration water use and pay almost double the usual price to meet their daily needs.
“This is just the beginning of summer, we don’t know how it is going to turn out,” said Chethan Hegde, head of the Bengaluru arm of the National Restaurants Association of India.
Some restaurants are considering using disposable plates to save on washing-up, while others are putting up advisories in restrooms and training staff on how to operate with less water.
Larger companies are changing tack too.
Microsoft is using tap aerators to control water flow and recycling water in the washrooms at its office in Bagmane Constellation Business Park, an employee said, citing a memo sent to workers.
Walmart, which implemented similar water conservation measures well before the crisis, said it was also encouraging landlords to use recycled water for landscaping and gardening.
Some employees who live in waterscarce areas prefer to work in the office, a senior Accenture employee said.
Microsoft, Dell and Accenture did not respond to requests seeking comment.