Water scarcity hits premium townships across Indore

Times News NetworkIndore: As water crisis continues to affect large parts of Indore this summer, several of the city’s upscale residential colonies and high-rise apartment complexes too are now struggling to secure adequate daily supply.With borewells drying up and Narmada water proving insufficient, residents in posh localities have become heavily dependent on costly private water tankers for nearly a month now, pushing up maintenance expenses and disrupting routine life.Areas including Saket, Race Course Road, Kanchan Bagh, Manoramaganj, Nipania, Mahalaxmi Nagar, Vijay Nagar extension, parts of Super Corridor and several high-rise residential clusters have been among the worst affected.Residents say most societies are now calling multiple water tankers daily to meet basic household requirements. “We are paying for at least three to four tankers every day. Despite that, water supply inside flats is restricted to specific hours,” said Ruchi Jain, a resident of a township near Mahalaxmi Nagar with more than 30 flats and row houses. “The maintenance charges in our society have been increased because tanker expenses have doubled during the past few weeks.

”Residents said that private tanker charges have surged sharply with rising summer demand, with prices now ranging between Rs 700 and Rs 2,000 per tanker depending on locality, distance and availability.Several apartment associations have reportedly raised monthly maintenance fees by Rs 1500 to Rs 2,500-3000 per flat to manage the additional expenditure. Residents say the cost burden is difficult to manage especially for middle-income families living in large housing societies.

“During summer months, additional Rs 2000 apart from the maintenance fee is charged from every flat owner to meet water tanker expenses.

The tanker prices also rise during the peak time, so additional amount is to be charged from the residents,” said Debashish Roy, secretary of a housing society in Saket Nagar.Residents say that the existing Narmada water supply is falling short of the growing demand in many residential pockets, with several colonies receiving low-pressure or irregular supply that is unable to meet daily household needs.Apart from financial strain, residents are also facing practical difficulties in daily routine. Many households have stopped using washing machines regularly and are postponing cleaning activities to conserve water. Tankers arriving late at night or early morning have become a routine in several colonies.“Officer goers face the trouble because water supply timings are uncertain. Sometimes there is no water in upper floors till afternoon as tankers are late,” said Mohit Verma, a resident of a high-rise apartment on Super Corridor.

“Even after paying high maintenance, basic supply is not assured.”Residents claim that many borewells in residential campuses have either dried up or witnessed a sharp fall in water levels this summer. Societies that earlier depended partly on groundwater are now relying almost entirely on tanker operators.With temperatures remaining high and summer yet to peak fully, residents fear the crisis may worsen further in the coming weeks unless regular water supply improves substantially.