India's Capital At Mercy Of 'Tanker Mafia' During Shortages Of Water (VIDEO)

With India's water-starved capital experiencing extreme hot summers annually, an estimated 2,000 illegal "mafia tankers" run a thriving trade by operating on a parallel water supply industry which illegally draws water from the city's groundwater, the Associated Press reported. Since roughly 3.5 million people suffer from dry taps, the city's dysfunctional water system forces Delhi-ites to pay up.

The tankers don't come cheap as well, with so-called tanker mafia charging anywhere between Rs. 400 and Rs. 800 for 1,000 liters. On the other hand, Delhi Jal Board, the city's water agency which is meant to offer residents with a free supply, end up selling water to either private operators or to consumers.

"You need water, you will pay anything, right?" said Phakey, a marketing executive.

"In a city known for its vertiginous inequalities, the shortage affects people from both upscale gated communities and dust-blown slums, as every day, the city's supply falls more than 160 million gallons short," according to the AP. "Most residents have piped water for just a couple hours a day, and almost a quarter have none at all."

Despite some massive crackdown operations, New Delhi's leaky water infrastructure and chaotic management has been a problem for decades, with some cases of DJB officials' involvement in selling and distribution of water through private tankers getting exposed recently.

"We are taking strict action against any complaint of malpractice. However, DJB can only control its own tankers. There are thousands of others operating privately that are beyond our purview," said an official.

The shortage of water has become critical in recent years as Delhi's population has grown with little or no planning, rising from 9 million in 1991 to almost 17 million today, according to the AP.

The most urgent problem, though, is getting water to the sprawling neighborhoods of illegally constructed buildings, home to 40 percent of the city's residents and largely without water lines. Although DJB sends out 900 tankers daily, it's nowhere near enough since dozens of people in a single area need to be helped within a span of 15 minutes.

"Sometimes only one water tanker comes, sometimes they come after a day's gap," said Fatima, who uses only one name. "We are poor people. If we sit and wait like this for a whole day for the water tanker, when will we go out to earn our daily wage?"

But in the absence of any response from DJB during water shortages, residents often have to rely on private supply, Times of India reported. "In our area, DJB takes bookings for tankers only when we go to their office. Even then they take their own time to send water. In that case, one usually has to purchase water from private operators for Rs 400-600 per 1,000 liters. As demand goes up, so do their charges," said PD Vashisht, a resident of C-2 Vasant Kunj.

The problem is, however, downplayed by New Delhi's water authority. "I wouldn't call it a crisis," said Vijay Kumar, the agency's chief. "If you look at Delhi overall, certain pockets are water-scarce - not all."

Additionally, the water board largely places the blame on neighboring states, claiming it doesn't have enough water since a 2012 canal renovation has denied them with extra water. "That is our biggest constraint," said Kumar. "Once we are in position to commission the entire infrastructure, water will be more equitably distributed, more rationally managed. But what is crucial is that we should get more water."

Still, critics say the city's water board, which is close to two major rivers and has a significant water table, has squandered its resources. In theory, as the World Bank noted, New Delhi should have more water available per capita than Paris.

"Delhi is a very privileged city in terms of water availability. So Delhi seems to be a case of crisis of mismanagement," said Himanshu Thakkar, who runs the New Delhi-based South Asian Network for Dams, Rivers and People, a research and environmentalist organization.

"Management failures mean New Delhi wastes the water it has, distributing it unevenly and, by its own admission, losing 40 percent of its supply a day. Some neighborhoods get more water than they can use while others go dry. Despite repeated audits acknowledging the problems, little has been done to address them," the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, the board is accused of ignorantly blaming leakage for shortage of water when experts claim more of it to actually have been stolen. Tens of thousands of builders and homeowners have allegedly tapped illegally into the city's water mains, Sanjay Sharma, a water engineer with the activist group Citizens Front for Water Democracy, said.

With no reliable supply, illegal connections and calls to the water mafia have become routine, with authorities largely ignoring it due to no other alternative.

Ramanand Sharma, who runs a small illegal tanker business in southern New Delhi, fills his tankers from illegal wells outside the city, paying off police patrols with $3 bribes, he said, adding that government tanker drivers also often divert their loads for cash.

"The government water tankers are not under scrutiny," he said. "Everyone knows that they make money, too." Sharma charges 3,000 rupees, or about $50, for a thousand liters, impossibly expensive for most Indians. Other suppliers charge 600 rupees, or around $10, per trip, which is still beyond most people, according to the AP.

Local administration too has its hands full dealing with illegal extraction of groundwater. "In south and southwest Delhi, the problem of illegal water extraction is huge. It interferes with DJB's pumps as they go dry. The government has tried to crack down on these activities but often gets no aid from police and other agencies," said an official.

Meanwhile, India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, made promises to bring efficiency to the country's chaotic public services, including water, during this year's elections. But three months later, his government has yet to set a target date to bring piped water to all New Delhi's citizens.

"Just 10 kilometers from his office there is the area that has no piped network. In the capital city of India!" says Sanjay Sharma, the water engineer. "Where is the commitment?"

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