A water tanker near Raipur, Chhattisgarh iStock
Water

DTE Reportage: Tanker economy revealed

DTE reports from across India on the tankers supplying water to the country’s cities and villages

M Raghuram, Bhagirath, Shivani Chaturvedi, Vivek Mishra, Jayanta Basu, Neetu Singh, Aman Gupta, Siddhanath Vaijinath Mane, Raju Sajwan, Madhav Sharma

Tanker economy revealed: Nexus between water mafia and politicians controls supply in Bengaluru

Residents of a neighbourhood in Bengaluru line up for receiving water in March 2024

Tanker mafia given free rein to control supply, create water crisis

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Tanker economy revealed: In Delhi, Sangam Vihar residents battle scarcity amidst tanker mafia monopoly

Delhi Jal Board water is available in a limited quantity in Sangam Vihar, resulting in a monopoly by tanker operators.

Acute water shortages force residents to rely on costly private tankers as illegal borewells flourish under political collusion

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Tanker economy revealed: Chennai’s IT hub grapples with tanker cartels’ stranglehold on water needs

Innovative solutions and collective bargaining as residents stand up to tanker cartels

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Tanker economy revealed: DTE uncovers how water suppliers openly exploit the poor across Delhi

In Trilokpuri Colony, pipelines are dry, forcing residents to rely on costly private tankers; In south Delhi, tanker prices as high as Rs 5,000

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Tanker economy revealed: In hydrologically rich Kolkata, the poor pay for the rich's water supply

Tanker economy revealed: In hydrologically rich Kolkata, the poor pay for the rich's water supply

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Tanker economy revealed: It’s not just Delhi; Lucknow too has a thriving water mafia

As is the case in Delhi, socio-economic disparity plays a huge role in Lucknow’s water crisis.

Akin to Delhi, water tankers have become a vital source of water supply in the summer months in UP’s capital; But there is no official regulation of this shady business

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Tanker economy revealed: No water supply from government behind growing RO industry in Bundelkhand towns

Campers of cool, RO-filtered water being prepared for supply in a Bundelkhand town.

Communities in crisis rely on home-based industries using borewells to meet water needs amid plummeting groundwater levels

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Tanker economy revealed: In rain shadow Marathwada, climate change & sugarcane farming accelerate dependence on non-governmental water supply

A tanker in Dharashiv district, Maharashtra

Data from June show private tankers supplying water to 8 of the region’s districts

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Tanker economy revealed: Faridabad water mafia cash in on Delhi’s woes

Tankers lined up to fill water from a borewell in Jeevan Nagar near Wazirpur village in Faridabad

DTE investigation uncovers booming underground economy amid plummeting water tables in NCR villages

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Tanker economy revealed: Rajasthan’s groundwater level takes a dip as water mafias emerge

Despite most ponds being public or under Panchayats in western Rajasthan, the tanker owners sell the water harvested from the pond, raking in profits.

Water shortages in Rajasthan need no introduction; but the extent of the crisis covers a lot more than what meets the eye

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