PG accommodations in Bengaluru facing acute water shortage

BENGALURU:  Silicon City has been facing an acute water problem for many weeks, but there has been no solution in sight even as the water scarcity is increasing by the day. Paying guest accommodation owners say that half of their earnings is going towards ensuring availability of water even as the number of guests has been rapidly declining.

Aruna Kumar, president of the PG Owners’ Welfare Association, said, “Already, there is a water problem all over the city. There are more than 20,000 PGs in the city and we are facing an extreme shortage of water. Earlier, a tanker of water was available for Rs 600, but now, water is not available even for Rs 2,000 per tanker. We are spending about Rs 34,000-Rs 40,000 per month to ensure adequate water and this is the first time we haves seen losses due to water. We are running PGs by providing all facilities to people from different parts of the country. Now, we are not able to provide water due to shortage and we have to get water through tankers. We have not seen any profits for the last two months”.

Some PGs in the city do not have Cauvery water supply and the borewells have completely dried up. Thus, the PG owners are getting water through tankers. “If the BWSSB and the government provide water at less rates, only then can the PG sector survive. PG owners are requesting water from the authorities”, he added.