Despite price cap, water continues to cost over ₹2,000 per tanker load in Bengaluru
Despite a cap on water tanker prices by the district administration in Bengaluru, water tanker loads of 12,000 litres continue to cost over ₹2,000. The cap has had little effect on water tanker prices on the ground and enforcement has been almost nil, complain residents.
Nayaz Khan, a resident of Varthur, said when asked about charging more than the price cap, water tanker dealers complained that what the government had fixed was unviable and they could supply water at only higher rates. “We are at the mercy of tanker dealers for water and have to buy water at whatever rates they quote. The government has announced that they will provide water for free in our areas. It hasn’t reached us,” he said.
Another resident of Whitefield said that water tanker suppliers are not only charging the price they want, but are also insisting that apartment communities enter into a contract of at least six months to get water now.
“The price cap has been on paper and there is no way to enforce that. If one wants water, one has to accept the terms put forth by tanker suppliers and that is the ground reality,” he said.
Most of the water tanker dealers in the city have rejected the price cap, even as many argue it was dead on arrival and did not apply to them at all.
BWSSB chairman V. Ramprasath Manohar said that the board will soon paste stickers of the prices fixed by the district administration on water tankers to create awareness among the public. “It is a new system and will take some time for both the people and the tanker suppliers to get used to it,” he said.