Poor families in Bengaluru pay ₹3,000 a month for water: Audit
With a drinking water crisis looming over Bengaluru in the coming summer months following a 43% deficit in the southwest monsoon, the Water Satyagraha campaign highlighted the growing financial burden on economically weaker families who are increasingly dependent on private water tankers to meet their daily needs.
Preliminary findings of the campaign’s household survey water audit revealed that the economically weaker sections, especially slum dwellers, spend a disproportionate share of their income on drinking water purchased from private tanks.
The campaign, whose volunteers conducted household surveys in various locations, predicted water shortages in the city of more than 600 million liters per day (MLD).
“Poor families spend around ₹ 3,000 per month on drinking water, which is more than ₹ 2,000 per month in assistance given to women under the Karnataka government’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme,” said Syed Ahmed Hussain, campaign organizer and KPCC vice-president.
Mr. Hussain pointed out that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has no power to regulate the prices charged by private water tanker operators.
Results of the Water Satyagraha household survey
Water audit warns of 600 MLD shortfall in Bengaluru
Private tankers add to drinking water burden on Bengaluru’s poor
The BWSSB has no authority to regulate the prices charged by private tanker operators
772 MLD of untreated sewage produced daily in the city
Groundwater is used in every taluk in Bengaluru city
Some middle-class families spend as much as ₹54,000 annually on drinking water alone
The BWSSB tests 80 to 150 water samples a day, but does not release data on contamination and pipe leaks
Water Satyagraha volunteers aim to cover 3 million households by March 2027 and submit their findings to the Karnataka government
Lack of supply
Bengaluru currently receives around 1,470 MLD of Cauvery water against an estimated daily requirement of over 2,100 MLD, according to findings. The city produces about 2,120 MLD of sewage daily, of which 1,348 MLD is treated, leaving 772 MLD untreated, Mr. Hussain said.
The household survey also found that some middle-class families spend as much as ₹54,000 annually on drinking water alone.
Mr Hussain, who hails from Kanakapura, shared the preliminary findings with reporters and said: “Bengaluru contributes about 40% to Karnataka’s economy, but many of its families have to wait days for water to flow from their taps. The city is withdrawing groundwater almost twice as fast as it is being recharged, replenishing and losing about 400 million liters of water every day from private areas. tankers they can barely afford.”
Drought specter
Across Karnataka, 226 of the state’s 240 taluks have been declared drought-hit this year, while contaminated drinking water has claimed lives in Raichur, Chitradurga and Mysuru districts, he said.
Pointing to 772 MLD of untreated sewage produced daily, Mr. Hussain said that every taluk in Bengaluru city has been classified as over-exploited in terms of groundwater extraction. Nearly 27% of the city’s piped water was lost through leakage, theft and unaccounted consumption, he added.
Referring to the legal framework governing access to safe drinking water, he cited the Supreme Court’s judgment in Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar (1991), which held that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to pollution-free water and air. The United Nations has recognized access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right.
Mr Hussain expressed concern over deaths due to contaminated drinking water in various parts of Karnataka, saying that drinking water and sewage pipes often ran side by side, with leaky connections posing the risk of sewage contaminating the drinking water supply. The BWSSB tested 80 to 150 water samples a day but did not release data on contamination and pipe leaks, he claimed.
Full water audit report by March 2027
The Water Satyagraha volunteers are expected to complete their survey of three million households across Bengaluru by March 2027 and submit a report to the government.
Mr. Hussain said the campaign was also significant in the context of the centenary of the Mahad Satyagraha led by Dr. BR Ambedkar on 20 March 1927 when he led the Dalits in asserting their right to draw drinking water from a public tank in Mahad, Maharashtra.
Published – November 3, 2026 1:10 PM IST