40% of water wasted daily in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: At least 40% of Hyderabad's precious water is wasted everyday and unless the age-old pipelines carrying water to the city homes are replaced immediately the shortage of water could spiral out of control, top water board officials said. Unbelievable as it may sound, upto 3 million gallons of water from Osmansagar reservoir gets poured out every day due to leakages in the old lines, installed way back in 1935. "Normally in any country 17% is the admissible rate of water loss. In Hyderabad, however, it is at 40%," Manohar Babu, director (operations), Water Board told TOI. At a time when thousands of Hyderabadis spend hours waiting in long queues with buckets in hand to get water or order tankers at high prices to meet their household needs, Water Board officials said big institutions and even hospitals pay little heed to leaking pipes, taps or reservoirs that cause loss of water. Many areas in the city are reeling under acute water shortage and the Water Board