Private water tankers raking in moolah

Serilingampally: With city reeling under a severe water shortage, the illegal water business is in full swing on the city outskirts. Deep borewells are being dug to extract groundwater by these illegal water business operators and, as a result, most of the borewells at many colonies, which are at less depth, have gone dry. There are instances where locals raised their voice against illegal operators and tried to stop tankers plying through their colonies.

• Colony residents shocked as their borewells become dry

• Complaints to revenue dept fall on deaf ears, they allege

The illegal water business is thriving especially in Serilingampally constituency. Sunnam Cheru, Medikunta and Gopanpally of Gachibowli division are some areas where borewells are increasingly being dug by these illegal operators. These illegal operators supply water to many restaurants, IT companies, hostels, and hotels and are earning lakhs of rupees per day.

Many of the borewells dug earlier by residents have gone dry in Gopanpally. Angered by the illegal business, locals unitedly tried to stop tankers but their efforts yielded no fruit as the operators continued their business during late nights. Locals accused the revenue officials concerned of colluding with illegal water operators as their complaints to the officials were not taken seriously. Raju, a resident of Gopanpally, said that locals complained to revenue officials to remove illegal borewells but no action was taken so far.