Chittoor: Sale of drinking water becomes a lucrative business

Chittoor: The Chittoor Municipal Corporation (CMC) authorities have failed to provide drinking water supply to majority of citizens in an effective manner.

As a result, people in three-fourth of 50 wards in CMC are forced to purchase drinking water through private tankers and consequently, the sale of drinking water has become a lucrative business in the city.

There has been variation in the quantity of drinking water being sold by private parties in various wards and in the prices. Taking advantage of water scarcity, some leaders are engaged in sale of drinking water business.

The price of a potful drinking water has been crossed Rs 5 for the past few months. Water has become a costlier commodity and even poor people in slums are compelled to purchase water in pots or buckets.

Speaking to The Hans India, the residents of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, a notified slum, decried that they are purchasing water once in two days from private tankers.

Suryabee, a housewife of Muslim minority said that she was spending over Rs 600 per month to purchase water. Many well-to-do families purchase mineral water from various RO plants.

Municipal Commissioner C Obulesh admitted that many of private tankers were selling drinking water in the city due to water scarcity.

"Chittoor has been facing water scarcity for several decades. Despite funds crunch, water is being transported through private tankers in the city,'' he said.