Water is big business, but little buzz on poll pitch

JALNA: A shop of bathroom fittings and various plumbing gadgets in Jalna's busy, dust-enveloped market area has a floor dedicated to high-end bath units, with ceiling showers promising waterfall-like experience or a caressing touch. "Business is good," beams Prakash Kataria, the shop's owner, who created this designer bath section four months ago in this town gets municipal water once in four, eight or even 15 days.
Less than 10km from Kataria's shop, off the Jalna-Nagpur highway, is Lakhan Mujmule's farmland where water tankers come for their daily refill from his irrigation well. It's an organised business for this farmer, who has set up two kiosks with thick pipes, an engine to pump water from the well into the tankers and has created enough space for two tankers to fill at a time. "This is sweet water," Mujmule says, explaining its demand and goes on to add how it is a legitimate business, with a commercial meter fixed as he pumps water for non-irrigation purposes.
Kataria and Mujmule could be at two ends of the social spectrum, but are bonded by a common business instinct. If Kataria diversified his paints and cast iron business into plastic water tank manufacturing five years ago, Mujmule started selling water by the "handi" eight years ago. The business paid rich dividends. Kataria's family business of many years grew further (evident from the added floor with designer fittings) and Mujmule's family assets now include two cars, two motorcycles and two water tankers.
The parched land of Jalna may has created a new industry sector of water, but water woes of locals are not really the talking point this election season, even though the freebies parties are distributing in rural areas include plastic water tanks. Candidates in the fray, Raosaheb Danve (BJP), Vilas Autade (Congress) and Deelip Mhaske (AAP), speak of farmers' issues as priority areas, and at least two of them, Danve and Autade, believe Jalna town's water concerns are more or less sorted after the Jayakwadi pipeline project took off last year.
Locals say they have stopped expecting solutions from candidates. While three-time MP Danve's performancedoes not inspire confidence, the other two candidates in the fray are little known.
Autade, an office bearer with the Aurangabad rural district Congress committee, is vaguely heard of in local circles of Jalna. Mhaske, an IITian, hails from the town, but was working in the US and returned only a couple of years ago.
Jalna resident Aakash Agrawal says the water situation is unpredictable and was much worse last year when there was no groundwater left to pump. "Danve has not done anything in 15 years, but the Modi wave will work in his favour this election," he says.
Besides, the industrial town has in the last decade learnt to deal with this scarcity itself, which largely means pumping money to meet daily water needs. People in Jalna keep taps open at all times, unsure when municipal water will come, buy tankers and dig borewells. The Jalna MIDC spends lakhs of rupees, households hundreds and the poor hours on water collection every day.
Industrial unit owners own three to four tankers, each of 20,000 litres capacity, costing Rs 10 lakh or more. There are over 100 industrial units are into rolling mills, furnaces or steel at Jalna MIDC. Kishore Agarwal of Jalna Entrepreneurial Association says the average monthly expenditure on water is Rs 2 lakh per industrial unit. And then there are many units have not even taken the MIDC water connection, as supply is too erratic and water pressure too low.
It's the same story in Jalna town as well, where municipal water is supplied once in four or eight days in rotation to the 43 zones here. The supply is barely able to meet one-third of Jalna's demand.
Add to the creaky pipeline network, which awaits a Rs 177-crore distribution improvement project would augment distribution, says R U Bagle, city engineer, Jalna Nagar Palika. Even after the much-awaited pipeline project from Jayakwadi to Jalna started last year, many leakages in the pipeline network, which dates back to the Nizam's time, have ensured supply remains erratic.
Predictably, there is a business opportunity here
even the naïve can sense. Nalin Bhardiya, who has a shop at Mahavir Chowk, started stocking plastic water tanks about five years ago. "Business was at its peak last year," he says, ruing the drop in demand this summer after manufacturers increased water tank prices.
But Jalna grows curiously without roads and water. A sprawling township of twin bungalows and 2BHK flats is coming up at Ambad chowk on Jalna bypass. "Water is priority for buyers," says Sachin Pipada, director of Kuber, the company building the project. He shows a 65-foot-deep, 27-foot wide well in the township's backyard and hopes municipal supply would streamline by the time buyers are given possession.
Also coming up are independent bungalows, are high on luxury quotient and owned by local businessmen, who buy 12,000 to 20,000-litre tankers and dig deep borewells to keep water running in their 5BHK-with-attached-bath dwellings. It's here Kataria's waterfall showers enjoy a good demand.
Candidate Speak
Raosaheb Danve, BJP: I will highlight the problems of farmers, and focus on irrigation and construction of barrages. They should get right price of crops and ensure 24-hour power supply like it is in Gujarat. Regarding water, there are old pipelines in the city and it is important to change them. Water will be good in Jalna.
Vilas Autade, Congress: Roads are a key concern. They are in a bad shape even in Danve's constituency, Bhokardan. Jalna is getting good water supply after the Godavari water was brought here. MLA Kailash Gorantiyal had got the parallel pipeline work done, but the MP has played no role.
Deelip Mhaske, AAP: We are looking at economic empowerment of farmers, small business owners and unemployment in rural and urban areas. We will also focus on basic amenities such as good roads, clean water supply and electricity. Twenty four hour water supply is the biggest issue here. Water quality is bad.
Water Economics
Rs 200-300 is what farmers charge to fill 12,000 to 20,000 litre tankers from their wells
Cost shoots up to Rs 500 to Rs 600 during peak summer
There are around 500 personal tankers in Jalna MIDC alone
Cost of tanker (20,000-litre capacity): Rs 10 lakh
Most households have 1,000-litre or 2,000 litre overhead tanks, in addition to 500-litre tanks
Tank cost: Rs 3.5 per litre
Demand-Supply Gap
Jalna MIDC
Daily requirement: 4-5 MLD
Supply: 2 MLD
Supply from: Aurangabad Shendra Industrial Area
Supply pattern: Once in 3 or 4 days
Problems: Poor supply, low pressure
Jalna Town
Daily requirement: 48 MLD
Supply: 18 MLD
Supply from: Jayakwadi
Additional supply: 3 MLD from Ghanewadi
Relief expected
Rs 177-crore distribution network project civic official believes would help them lift 54 MLD to supply to Jalna
A water tank of 500 cubic metre capacity is being constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh at MIDC. It will sort the problem of pressure of water supply, but only after the 72 MLD scheme for Shendra and Jalna Industrial area takes off. This would ensure 8 MLD is supplied to Jalna MIDC
Drop over the years
Decade — Water supply
1960s - Twice a day
1970s - Once a day
1980s - Once a day
1990s - Alternate days
2000 - Once a week
Currently, parts of Jalna get water supply once in 15 days
Source: Ghanewadi Jal-Sanrakshan Manch
Not always dry
The last Nizam would import water from Jalna to Hyderabad by train. The water here was known for its quality. A water filter was constructed in Jalna in 1935, its equipment sourced from England. Pune and Mumbai were not getting filtered at time when Jalna was.
Sunil Raiha, member, Ghanewadi Jal-Sanrakshan Manch
Deficit rainfall in 6 of 8 talukas of Jalna last year
100 villages in Jalna have reported depletion in groundwater level from 0-1m to 3 m
Source: Maharashtra Groundwater Survey and Development Agency's scarcity report, October 2013