Thirsty for change - The SoftCopy

Thirsty for change

Residents of Gagan's neighborhood fill water from taps installed outside factories in the Peenya Industrial Area.

By Mowna Ravikumar

BANGALORE (Dec. 6)—Gagan pedaled past school and his playful smile disappeared. The 13-year-old waved at his classmate and said he had to skip school to fetch water, using the two plastic pots tied to his bicycle.

“I don’t like missing school but I have to or my family will have no water to drink,” said Gagan B.R., a student of Nisarga English School. “My grandmother and brothers are by themselves until my mother comes back late evening from a garment factory. After my father eloped with another woman, I feel like it’s my responsibility to provide basic necessities to our family.”

The lonely industrial road serves many residents with filtered water and Gagan was one of them. He accessed the taps installed outside the factories for public use. The water that flows from them has already been used in the factories, then crudely filtered.

Although the factory owners warn that the water should not be used for drinking or cooking, most of the people who use it ignore that advice.

Gagan turned on the tap and let the water run till the pots were filled to the brim and tied them to the backseat of his bicycle.

He said proudly that his grandfather gave him his old bicycle last year as a reward for his performance in school.

Drinking unclean water is only option for some

Balaji and Darshan, Gagan’s brothers, were playing outside the house and ran toward him when they saw him. His grandmother came out and helped the boy with the pots. After the unclean water was poured from the pots into a black barrel in the kitchen, the children dipped tumblers into it and drank it.

“I know this water is unhealthy,” said Sarojini, Gagan’s grandmother. “We have no other choice but to drink it. My grandchildren are so playful and feel thirsty. We can’t tell them to drink less water.”

Many people in the Nalagadderanahalli locality in Peenya Industrial Area do not get water at all and many suffer from cold, stress, hair loss and fever from drinking the water that the factories give away.

“Gagan is the strength of our family, but we fear that he’s suffering from asthma,” Sarojini said.

Gagan and his family live in a tiny home. It was hard to believe that a house like that could actually accommodate five people. The living room had a giant cot, and there was a very small kitchen and bathroom. The only source of light inside the house was in the kitchen.

“Sorry about the inconvenience,” said Rekha, Gagan’s mother. “With so many expenses we are not able to afford a tube light right now.”

Rekha works for garment factory for a monthly salary of Rs. 4,900. She said she has not taken even one day off work as the overtime payment she makes is very important to her and her family.

She pays her son’s school fees with that money and she hopes education will end the family’s poverty.

BWSSB ‘not able to cater to everybody’

With privatization of water, many people buy water in times of necessity. The middle income group complain of paying a minimum bill of Rs. 250 every month as there is no regular water supply.

Gagan carries two pots of water on his bicycle.

However, they do not mind paying for water when the need arises. Bottled water, water cans and water tankers serve their purpose in return for money.

“There is a shortage of water in this area, but some of us buy water from private tankers when in desperate need,” said Venkatesh, an employee in the industrial area.

Although the Peenya Industrial Area is known as one of the revenue-generating sections of Bangalore, most people tend to forget the residential areas there. This holds true for the government as well.

Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board officials say the major section of that area is industrial who have their own bore wells and do not completely depend on the water supply.

“There is a high demand for water in the city, but there is a shortage of supply and hence we are not able to cater to everybody,” said P.L. Amrutesh, executive engineer in BWSSB’s North Division.

On the one hand, many middle-income groups shell out an extra Rs. 300-400 every week for water from a tanker and on the other the poor in the same area cannot afford to buy a bottle of drinking water that costs about Rs. 12.

Some people in the area prefer to pay Rs. 30 for a can of water every day. While the other drink the unclean filtered water that the industries generously provide.

Gagan and his family are below the poverty line and cannot afford to spend an extra penny on water.

With a meager income, the family has to stump up school fees, pay the rent and medical bills and buy kerosene. Water is considered a low priority.

Gagan hopes to take responsibility for his family when he grows up. He said to his mother: “Ma, it won’t be long before I start earning and making enough money to buy water and lead a respectable life. Just three years, ma.”