Bangalore: For 30-year-old Thimakka in Kodegahalli, every day is a struggle to get water for her family. A tank provided by the gram panchayat is not sufficient to meet the villagers' needs.
Often Thimakka and her neighbours have to walk nearly 3 kilometres for water.
Bangalore is getting ready for another summer with little water. But officials are not admitting that.
It might be true that a 100-odd wards in the city may not have to struggle for water. But for the Seven City Municipal Corporations, it's a different story altogether.
Lines of empty pots, long queues and water tankers are a common sight in Bangalore, whether it's a city municipal corporation area like Laggere or a gram panchayat area like Kodegahalli.
"We have to take water from the tanker daily. It's a huge problem because there are fights for water," says Thimakka.
In Sanjaynagar, which falls on the outskirts of the city, the situation is worse. Here, the Municipal Corporation supplies water once in two days.
The Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project now hopes to handle the shortage by supplying water from Cauvery River to seven townships on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Private companies will be roped in for this. Environmentalists are opposing the move on various grounds.
With a population growth rate of more than 3 per cent, Bangalore's population could easily top 12 million by 2011. The city's demand for water will also grow.
Privatisation or no privatisation; Bangalore is getting ready for a parched summer.
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