Amid severe scarcity, water runs to waste in some Hyderabad areas
Hyderabad: Hyderabad is rationing piped water to once every three days and fining pubs up to Rs 20,000 for washing floors with drinking water. But videos of water gushing onto streets in two localities have left residents asking who will answer for those leaks.
In one video, from Maula Ali, Manjeera water is seen running down a road. In the other, from SR Nagar, water spills from a pump outside JJ Hospital.
Both clips spread on social media, with users asking who was responsible for letting water go to waste in the middle of a crisis.
“Restaurants and pubs were asked to pay a Rs 20,000 fine for wasting water. Who should be penalised for this pump, which is leaking water?” asked Mohammed Ilyas, who posted the SR Nagar video on Instagram.
Amid drinking water scarcity in Hyderabad, citizens have questioned the Telangana government over water being wasted in Maula Ali and SR Nagar areas.
— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) October 31, 2026
In Maula Ali, Manjeera water was seen flowing on the street. At SR Nagar, the water was flowing out of a pump placed outside the… pic.twitter.com/5IXVA9M2Vn
Fines for some
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has been fining people, restaurants and pubs between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 for wasting water while cleaning their premises. One city pub was recently fined Rs 20,000.
From November 1, water tankers caught spilling drinking water on the way will also be fined Rs 5,000. HMWSSB Managing Director K Ashok Reddy issued the order on October 24 after the board found tankers being overfilled and water splashing onto roads.
Tankers with leaks, missing lids or loose covers will not be filled until they are repaired.
The Maula Ali leak has struck a nerve because the Manjeera is one of the sources under the most strain. The board expects a shortfall of about 100 million gallons a day (MGD) from Singur and Manjeera between January and August.
Supply once in three days
The water board has declared a water emergency. It has warned that some reservoirs could run out of usable water between mid-December and the end of the month.
“With water in the Singur Dam and Nagarjuna Sagar Dam dropping to precarious levels due to sparse rainfall, the HMWSSB is actively shifting its standard alternate-day supply schedule to a restricted routine of once every three days for major parts of the city to conserve what remains,” Reddy said at a review meeting.
The city’s 1.5 crore residents are facing an acute drinking water shortage. Officials blame a weak monsoon linked to El Nino, uneven supply across areas and rising demand from farms and industry.
Only three of Hyderabad’s 16 mandals received enough rain this monsoon, data shows.
Many residents now depend on tankers, with 6,000 to 8,000 booked every day. Parts of the city, including Secunderabad Cantonment and the outskirts, are getting piped water only once in three or four days.
Reservoirs running low
Among the main sources of water for the 2,053 sq km area inside the Outer Ring Road are the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs and the Singur and Nagarjuna Sagar dams, which draw from the Krishna and Godavari basins.
According to the Irrigation and CAD Department, Osman Sagar has dropped from 3.5 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) to 2.2 TMC. Himayat Sagar is down from 2.5 TMC to 2.1 TMC. Singur, which can hold 29.9 TMC, has just 3.4 TMC left. Nagarjuna Sagar holds 184.2 TMC against a capacity of 312 TMC.
The board has, however, dismissed viral social media claims that all the city’s reservoirs would run dry by November and supply would stop completely.
Drought beyond the city
The shortage is not limited to Hyderabad. According to the state Irrigation Department, more than half of Telangana’s 600-odd mandals are hit by drought. Only about 500 of over 6,000 lakes in the state still hold water, the department said.
The HMWSSB is now trying to stretch what it has.
It plans to add 500 tankers to its fleet of about 1,200 and has asked officials to start registering more operators. Boduppal has been marked as a priority area for clearing pending tanker bookings.
From November 1, the board will also run “green water” tankers carrying treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants. The water is meant for construction, industry, gardening and other uses where drinking water is not needed.
Reddy has said the city currently receives 560 to 570 MGD. The board plans to draw an extra 60 MGD from the Godavari, the Krishna and Osman Sagar. Even then, a gap of 40 to 50 MGD could remain, hitting nearly 3 lakh connections between Patancheru and Narsingi, he said.
An emergency plan has been sent to the government.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and senior ministers have also held an emergency meeting to review plans to keep drinking water flowing in the months ahead.
For residents waiting days for their taps to run, the sight of water flowing down the street has been hard to accept.
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This content is published by The Siasat Daily and has not been created or edited by Hello Headlines. View original
