Key Points
The water tanker arrives once every two weeks, its 1,000 liters expected to serve hundreds of people in this suburb of Indias most high-tech metropolis, where women carrying empty buckets come clamoring to quench their thirst.. ..
Sometimes fights break out, there is a lot of arguing, she said..
Residents from Bandepalya, a low-income community suburb in the citys south, line up with buckets from 9 a.m., waiting for the water tanker to arrive.. . Private tankers commissioned by the government distribute water to neighborhoods when river and groundwater levels run low, charging residents for the service and hiking prices when demand rises.. ..
Authorities capped the price of such deliveries commissioned by the government at 1,200 rupees ($14) per tanker, but residents say they are struggling financially.. . Susheela, the resident with the family of four, said people in Bandepalya typically earn between 6,000 8,000 rupees ($70 95) a month, and many of them have no choice but to now spend half their income buying water from the tankers.. ..
But we are all struggling, she said.. . Geeta Menon, a social worker who works with low-income communities in Bengaluru said the crisis could give rise to diseases and illness as hygiene levels drop.. . Children are defecating on the streets as theres no water at home, theyre going thirsty, people are unable to cook, she said..
