Bengaluru’s severe water scarcity is impeding production at its garment factories, doubling restaurant water expenses, and compelling managers at certain global companies to address unconventional employee requests.
The city, located in southern India, hosts approximately 14 million residents, numerous startups, and international corporations ranging from Walmart to Alphabet’s Google.
“My team is skipping meetings to chase water tankers,” a senior Dell employee said on condition of anonymity to Reuters, lamenting the hit to productivity.
“This is just the beginning of summer, we don’t know how it is going to turn out,” said Chethan Hegde, head of the Bengaluru arm of the National Restaurants Association of India.
Certain restaurants are contemplating the adoption of disposable plates to reduce the need for dishwashing, while others are posting notices in restrooms and training staff to conserve water.
Also read: India’s Bengaluru faces acute water shortage
According to a memo sent to employees, an employee at Microsoft mentioned that the company is implementing tap aerators to regulate water flow and recycling water in the restrooms at its office in Bagmane Constellation Business Park.
This week, the situation escalated as certain suppliers of water tanks, crucial for the city during periods of low river and groundwater levels, went on strike following state government attempts to regulate them.
Dealers raised prices for a 12,000-litre water tanker to as high as 2,000 rupees ($24.19) in February, up from 1,200 rupees ($14.51) in January, according to a Reuters investigation last month.
