Hyderabad water tanker operators call off strike, agree to draw water outside ORR
Hyderabad: Hyderabad water tanker strike, which began a day earlier, has been called off. The Water Tankers Association of Hyderabad is restoring supplies with immediate effect. Association members, led by president Chandrashekar, met the HYDRAA official issuing the statement at the HYDRAA office on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting took place at the request of Hyderabad district in-charge Minister Ponnam Prabhakar.
The operators agreed to collect bore water from the Peri Urban Region (PURE), after obtaining the requisite permissions. HYDRAA had asked them to stop illegal collection of groundwater in densely populated areas within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) region and core Hyderabad. It said the groundwater table has fallen drastically because of El Niño and inadequate rainfall.
The operators agreed to draw water only from outside the ORR region. According to the statement, this would sharply reduce pressure on household and domestic bores in the core city. As agreed, all water tanker businesses will operate from outside the ORR area only.
Why groundwater pressure grew in dense pockets
The statement said Hyderabad is an IT hub, and hundreds of PG hostels operate in a few localised pockets. These include Madhapur, Gachibowli, Kukatpally, Ameerpet and Ashok Nagar. Tanker operators naturally choose bores close to these hubs. In this way, they shorten the lead distance and cut fuel charges. This competition, it said, has put more pressure on groundwater in certain pockets.
Many colonies and resident welfare associations have complained of illegal water drawing for commercial purposes. They also report that domestic bores are drying up. Domestic bores are normally dug to a depth of 100–300 feet. However, the statement said commercial operators are digging bores to 1,000–1,500 feet or more. They also use high-powered motors. As a result, the groundwater problem has worsened in densely populated areas, and thousands of residents fear their bores will dry up.
In Tellapur, hundreds of residents came onto the roads and demanded an immediate halt to illegal commercial drawing of water. Residents from the Suraram and Jeedimetla area also came to the HYDRAA office in large numbers with a similar request. On public demand, HYDRAA acted at a few places with the assistance of the revenue, police, municipal and groundwater departments.
HYDRAA said it recognises both the domestic public’s demand and the commercial requirements of water at PG hostels. It will work with the water board, revenue and police departments to check large-scale commercial exploitation of groundwater. This applies to densely populated and high-demand localities of the core region. At the same time, it said it will cooperate to keep water supplies to commercial establishments seamless.
