As summer temperature surges in the city, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has aggressively scaled up its emergency relief operations, deploying a fleet of water tankers to execute 360 trips per day across the city to quench the thirst of citizens. This intensive round-the-clock distribution network is specifically engineered to combat acute water scarcity in rapidly expanding peripheral non-network areas. Here, NMC is yet to lay pipeline infrastructure as the work is still incomplete.

 

The civic body has, currently, a fleet of 36 operational water tankers specifically targeting ‘non-network areas’ -- localities expanding rapidly where administrative pipeline infrastructure is yet to be laid. The water distribution strategy is meticulously divided between the NMC and Orange City Water (OCW). While OCW manages water delivery in networked zones where supply issues arise, the NMC assumes full responsibility for the expanding peripheral pockets. Key areas receiving these daily tanker services include several sectors within Ashi Nagar, Satranjipura, and Lakadganj, alongside smaller clusters scattered across other municipal zones. Rapid urbanisation is putting pressure on NMC to expand the water distribution system, but the process is intangibly slow to take off and also, to complete.

 

To streamline logistical costs, the NMC operates under a contractual system, paying private contractors Rs 399 per trip to fetch water from designated hydrant-equipped overhead tanks and deliver it directly to residents. In these non-network locations, population growth has outpaced pipeline development. What used to be vacant land is now transitioning into dense residential colonies, significantly increasing the daily demand for water. To keep pace, the 36-tanker fleet operates on a demanding schedule. Shrikant Waikar, Executive Engineer, Water Works Department, NMC, provided insight into the daily on-ground operations and future pipeline infrastructure planning, “The pipeline expansion work is currently underway in several of these newly-developing zones. Until the network is fully established, the corporate fleet remains active.” “These tankers don’t just run a single round; they make 8 to 10 trips each per day to meet residential demands. During peak summer, definitely, the demand has surged, but we are fully prepared to scale up these trips further to ensure no locality is left dry,” Waikar added. For now, the NMC urges residents in expanding zones to co-ordinate with their respective Zonal offices for streamlined tanker scheduling.