The agreement with the builder did not include a 13-year wait for a water pipeline. Since 2012-13 to now, Sunil Koloti and more than 1,200 people from his residential complex on the Undri hilltop have been fighting for the Pune Municipal Corporation to establish a water pipeline network up the slopes. “As the Occupancy Certificate was received, the builders vanished, giving us the water suppliers’ contact details,” he says. The society receives water only from tanker suppliers.

“Our building complex has 200 units. Our annual water bill from tanker suppliers alone runs up to Rs 40 lakh, with an additional Rs 10 lakh toward the maintenance of RO and filtration machinery,” says Koloti, Director, Mohammed Wadi Undri Residents Welfare and Development Foundation (MURWDF).

Since April 15, tanker suppliers have hiked their rates from Rs 600 to Rs 800 per 10,000-litre tanker. “This will push our monthly water expenditure to Rs 50 lakh, plus the Rs 10 lakh upkeep cost. The water tanker suppliers have notified all the societies that there will be a 10 per cent increase in the cost from April 1 every year. The financial burden on residents is becoming unsustainable,” says Koloti.

His housing society requires 3,600 tankers every month, except during summer when the number rises by a couple of tankers per day. They have a yearly contract with the supplier, “The three new water tanks near Dorabjee Mall will take care of the NIBM annex area and some part of Mohammed Wadi also but what about Undri hilltop?” asks Koloti, adding that more than 60 per cent of the residents of the buildings are high-ranking brass retired armed forces personnel.

Water tankers have become a way of life in most areas across the city, from Sus and Nagar Road to Wagholi and Wanowrie.

Durga Krishnamurty of Nyati Estate, also on the Undri hilltop, says the residents took to the streets after a speeding water tanker in the area killed a 19-year-old boy in April this year. The day after the agitation, the tankers did not come. “People were in bad shape. One can order drinking water from outside, but what will you do for the bathroom?” asks Krishnamurty.

“The police were carrying out random checks. They had asked that there be helpers on the tanker, a 360-degree camera, and proper tyres. For this, the water tankers increased the rate per tanker by Rs 200. We pay Rs 4,000 every day to pay for all these improvements. Yet, even after 21 days, we don’t see any helpers in the tankers, any cameras, or any improvement,” says Krishnamurty.

She adds, “After overcharging us, the water tanker owners feel that the general public should be grateful to them for giving us water, something that the PMC has failed to do. I don’t think that this is fair to the general public.”

Increasing urbanisation to blame?

In another part of the city, Bavdhan, people recount a similar dependence on water tankers. Pebbles II, a housing estate that boasts impressive architectural details and green hills in the backdrop, gets its water from more than half a dozen borewells on the campus. The area has limited access to PMC water, which is not sufficient for all the residents. Come March, and the borewells dry. Every day, till June, the society depends on eight to 10 tankers for its water needs.

“We begin to depend on them. The charge is approx Rs 1,000 per tanker. Sometimes, during a heat wave, the cost rises to Rs 1,200 per tanker. A lot of development is needed in this area,” says Madhavi Visal, a member of the committee of the housing society, which has 750 flats.

Visal points out a possible relationship between the increasing urbanisation of the area and the lack of water. “Even 10 years ago, it was not like this. But the number of construction sites is increasing around us. Trees are getting cut, more borewells are being dug, and the population is increasing. After the COVID-19 years, we have seen a construction boom and people have to increasingly depend upon water tankers,” she says. “What is worse is that we do not know where the water comes from. There are no quality checks, and we are living with that,” she adds.

(This article is part of The Indian Express series on the water crisis in Pune.)