Indian Politics & Policy Volume 1, Number 2, Fall 2018 | Page 103

Indian Politics & Policy water is the best, but there was a close second with Kejriwal water. The poorest quality was the water coming from the large conventional STP that they call tanker water. In other words, there are two pipelines supplying water to the depot. One brings drinking water from the DJB’s water treatment plant and the other brings treated wastewater from the pilot project that uses earthworms and filters. The pipeline water from the pilot project is the most important, as it is the water used to wash the buses in the depot. On the day of our interview, there was a discussion about quality, with some explaining that clearer is better and that it must be without smell and bad taste to be useful beyond horticulture. In the following discussion, NM and AK are the researchers and the others are employees at the bus depot. 11 UK: This is the govt. order based on court order ... and of NGT too ... they forbid us so we stopped this bore well, as in our department we need to issue foreclosure, we did the same and sent the report. Then we had this STP pipeline and then this water supply started. You know, previously we were fully dependent upon tanker-waters. In two days, we had to use three tankers. NM: 30,000 l water. UK: Yes, as we have 125 buses ... so around 45 buses get washed daily ... we do deep cleaning means cleaning from inside and washing from outside too. So we cannot wash all the buses in one day ... AK: So he said that he saved groundwater? Now no more use of groundwater? NM: No ... So you don’t use groundwater at all? UK: I will show you ... we have stopped our submersible ... because there is the strict order about this. NM: So, now you water your gardens with STP water only? UK: Yes. NM: And you wash your buses with this water only? UK: We wash our vehicles 100% with this water only. NM: So, if someday there is no piped water then what do you do for gardening? UK: In that case, we use remaining tanker water. After washing the vehicles if water remains in the tanker we use it for gardening ... you know tanker water is not as clean as the STP pipeline water ... I will show you the waters. NM: From where do you get this tanker water. UK: That water also comes from DJB Keshopur but from a different plant. It is not filtered water. So, what have you seen in the plant, tanker water does not get filtered. AK: So ... that water comes from the big plant, not through the membrane filter ... 100