How Small Businesses Are Coping With Water Scarcity In Bengaluru

"It could be worse," sighed 48-year-old V Manjunath, owner of a small engineering unit in Rajajinagar Industrial Area. "We are able to manage, although we have to pay more for water."

This is the characteristic Bengaluru spirit on display—the glass always being half full, optimism in trying times. 

We know Bengaluru to be the IT hub of India. However, most are not aware that Bengaluru is also home to one of the largest clusters of engineering units in southeast Asia. 

Almost half the borewells dug in the city's residential areas have dried up, according to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. That is 6,900 out of 14,000 borewells not yielding water. "We are drilling new borewells in 313 places and rejuvenating 1,200 inactive ones," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of officials on the water crisis.

The state is staring at a shortage of 500 million litres per day of water out of the 2,600 that it consumes. As much as 1,450 million litres per day of water from the Cauvery river is meant exclusively for the city. The rest comes from lakes and borewells, most of which have dried up in the aftermath of a failed monsoon. 

The Bengaluru civic authorities are also filling 14 out of 20 dry lakes with recycled water from sewage treatment plants. This would help recharge groundwater aquifers and provide some respite from the water shortage. 

The water crisis hit the headlines at the beginning of this month when an upscale residential apartment complex, Prestige Falcon City on Kanakapura Road, ran out of water. Residents said they were forced to use the restrooms at the nearby Forum Mall and resorted to using disposable plates and wet wipes at home. 

Many restaurants in affected areas, too, have made the shift to disposable plates and cutlery thanks to the water crisis. 

With two more months to go for the next monsoon, Bengaluru's residents are worried a lot indeed. 

Small businesses mean small and precarious margins and even a slight increase in input costs can blindside them. Which is what rising water costs have done to Bengaluru's MSMEs. 

"All small industries are now dependent on water tankers," said Shashidhar Shetty, president of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association. "Earlier it was Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per tanker of 6,000 litres. Now, the same tanker costs Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500. Even if owners are willing to pay, tankers are just not available. The government has taken over water tankers and the first priority is for domestic use. Next is for cattle. Water for industry is a far third," he said. 

Shetty emphasised that small businesses are witnessing a loss of about 0.5–2% in their profit margins, thanks to the increased cost of water. This, he said, is a big loss for them. 

"They cannot increase rates for their principals citing the water crisis," explained Shetty. "For instance, a unit making parts for Honda cannot increase rates. The rates are decided by Honda and are applicable to all vendors. They will not pay more to this unit just because of (the) water crisis," he said. 

Of the close to 3 lakh engineering units in Bengaluru, about 10% are metal finishing units, which are water intensive. These units include plating and powder coating and they need large amounts of water due to the process itself. 

"These businesses which need large amounts of water—they are suffering a lot," said Shetty. "Their profit margins are hit by 5% to 6%.

Faced with the worst monsoon since 1973, industry leaders in Bengaluru say they were expecting a shortage of water. What they are miffed about is that the cycle repeats every three–four years but is forgotten quickly. 

"This situation is only for a few months, so small businesses will absorb it," said Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, president, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry. "They will take a hit of 1% to 2% on their profit margins, which are already thin. But I want to request the government to create more storage facilities for rainwater," he said. 

"The will needs to be there, a long-term plan needs to be there. There needs to be a mindset to recycle water and not look for solutions only when a drought happens. MSMEs are some of the largest employers in Karnataka. About 6.5 lakh MSMEs in the state employ crores of people. The government needs to put some plans in place for them for the long term,” he said. 

The Peenya Industrial Area, southeast Asia's biggest industrial area for micro and small industries, was expected to be in better shape than other clusters in the city. This area has access to Cauvery water supply, which is technically available. 

But even this Cauvery water has reduced by half, according to the industry body situated there.

"Only 50% of Cauvery water is coming but the situation is not completely bad for us. We are managing with private tankers that provide treated water. It costs about Rs 500 per 6,000-litre tanker, if we purchase directly from private companies. The government tankers cost Rs 390," said HM Arif, president of the Peenya Industries Association. The area has about 15,000 micro and small businesses with 12 lakh labourers working in them. Of this, 5 lakh are women.

Bengaluru has to get through another two months of summer before the rain provides some relief. In the meantime, the government is placing new restrictions on water use every day.

Pool dances and rain dances are banned for Holi. 

Tap aerators have been made compulsory for buildings, commercial establishments, industries, luxury hotels and restaurants to conserve water. 

Washing cars and use of water for construction, gardening, fountains and swimming pools are already banned until further notice. Approximately 1.36 crore residents of the city are learning to innovate and conserve water.