Bengaluru water crisis: Hoteliers mull using disposable tableware

Bengaluru, Mar 9 (PTI) In the wake of the water scarcity, hoteliers in Bengaluru are mulling the use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

The hoteliers are praying for good rain around Yugadi (Kannada new year) time to overcome the crisis.

"Most of our borewells have gone dry and we are dependent on water tankers. If there is no rain around Yugadi, then we will have to make alternative arrangements," Karnataka State Hoteliers Association president Chandrashekar Hebbar told PTI on Saturday.

According to him, 90 per cent of the water goes for washing utensils and which eventually goes down the drain.

"Now we are seriously exploring 'use and throw' material as an option," Hebbar said.

The hotelier said it will be a costly affair but the expenditure on the disposable materials will be passed on to the customers.

"We are feeling the heat of the water scarcity in Bengaluru. We are praying for good rain around Yugadi," the KSHA president said.

Meanwhile, the civic agency in Bengaluru has appointed nodal officers for each ward in the city to address the water woes after capping the water prices between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000 per tanker.

Many residents' welfare associations have complained that the capping of water prices per tanker did not help them as the water suppliers are still charging exorbitantly. People in need of water are afraid of antagonising the water suppliers and are forced to pay whatever is charged, he said.

The BJP hit out at the ruling Congress for failing to provide drinking water.

"In the midst of the outcry of 'no water', we are getting to know that there is uninterrupted supply of beer. Water cannot fetch revenue but beer can. The government is concentrating on revenue. We must admire the government," the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka told reporters here.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar slammed the opposition saying that it does not seem to know anything other than criticism.

"If they give any constructive suggestions, we are certainly open to considering them. For the first time in the history of the State, we have taken on the water mafia," he told reporters here.

Shivakumar appealed to the people to use water judiciously and understand the value of water.

Asked why the government is not able to get water while private water tankers are managing large supplies, he said, "Private water tankers supply water from private borewells while government supplies from drinking water units.

The Deputy CM said water scarcity was the reason behind the state government pushing for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project across the Cauvery river in Kanakapura in Ramanagara district.

The Karnataka government wants the Mekedatu project to utilise its share of Cauvery water.

However, the neighbouring Tamil Nadu government, which often locks horns with Karnataka over Cauvery water sharing, has opposed the Mekedatu project. PTI