Bengaluru's acute water shortage is forcing posh, gated communities to use mall restrooms, wet wipes and disposable cutlery as borewells in many areas of the city have dried up. Home to about 14 million people, thousands of startups and international firms from Walmart to Alphabet's Google, the city has banned car washing, gardening, construction, water fountains and even imposed steep fines of up to Rs 5,000 to battle the crisis.
To make matters worse, private tankers are charging upwards of Rs 3,000 per load of 12,000 litres, from the original rate of Rs 600 to Rs 800.
The worst-hit are residents of gated communities, with some being forced to visit nearby malls day to use washrooms because of the worsening water crisis. Residents of Prestige Falcon City on Kanakapura Road, according to a Moneycontrol report, have been visiting the nearby Forum Mall to use its washrooms.
A Reddit user and Prestige Falcon City resident “Familiar-Art-8675” claimed it's been over a month since the society got regular water supply, adding that many have moved to temporary accommodations with no relief in sight.
"My team is skipping meetings to chase water tankers," a senior employee at Dell told Reuters, lamenting the hit to productivity. The shortage, caused by weak southwest monsoon rains that failed to replenish depleted groundwater and the Cauvery River basin reservoirs, has already forced residents to ration water use and pay almost double the usual price to meet their daily needs.
"This is just the beginning of summer, we don't know how it is going to turn out," said Chethan Hegde, head of the Bengaluru arm of the National Restaurants Association of India. Some restaurants are considering using disposable plates to save on washing-up, while others are putting up advisories in restrooms and training staff on how to operate with less water.
Larger companies are changing tack too.
Microsoft is using tap aerators to control water flow and recycling water in the washrooms at its office in Bagmane Constellation Business Park, an employee said, citing a memo sent to workers. Walmart, which implemented similar water conservation measures well before the crisis, said it was also encouraging landlords to use recycled water for landscaping and gardening.
Some employees who live in water-scarce areas prefer to work in the office, a senior Accenture employee said.
The crisis has reached Bengaluru's factories too. "Manufacturers cannot afford to stall production, they are trying their best to go on, but work has slowed down," South India Garment Association President Anurag Singhla was quoted in the report.
The situation worsened this week when some providers of water tanks - which the city relies on when river and groundwater levels are too low - went on strike after the state government moved to regulate them.
The city has capped the price of such tankers commissioned by the government at Rs 1,200 per unit.