Nagpur: Water scarcity is worrying Nagpur hoteliers ahead of the festive-season rush and the state legislature’s Winter Session in December, when hotels across the city are expected to be fully booked. Nagpur Residential Hotels Association (NRHA) plans to convene a meeting soon to discuss how the hospitality sector can cope with a possible shortage.NRHA president Tejinder Singh Renu told TOI that the Winter Session brings a surge in hotel occupancy, pushing up water demand. The state govt’s mandated water cut, which comes into effect this month, could also remain in force during the session. Adding to the concern, the latest groundwater survey report shows Nagpur’s water level at half the five-year average.The association has decided to bring hoteliers together to review directives issued by the authorities and discuss measures to manage the situation. “We are collecting all directives issued by authorities related to water cuts. At the meeting, we will discuss them in detail and consider steps to be taken from our side,” Renu said.He said hotels already try to conserve water through measures such as recycling, while most have alternative sources of supply. “We mostly use bottled or RO water, instead of corporation water for drinking. For other purposes, secondary borewells or wells are used,” he said.The situation could become difficult if these sources also run dry, leaving hotels dependent on purchased water. Renu said tanker water could serve some purposes but was not fit for drinking.Hotels also have limited control over how guests consume water, making it difficult to reduce usage beyond preventing wastage. “Our focus is on preventing wastage. Water use for cleaning utensils, mopping and laundry cannot be reduced significantly. We can only request customers to use water judiciously,” Renu said.Requests displayed on washroom walls often fail to change guests’ behaviour, he added. “Whatever you write on the walls of the washroom requesting the customer to use minimum water, it is usually not followed. The customer thinks, I have paid, so it is your duty to supply me the water I need,” he said.Renu questioned whether restrictions alone could address the looming shortage, arguing that the govt needed to focus on augmenting supply as well. “The govt will only restrict, saying do not drink water, do not mop, do not bathe. Is this the solution? Rain was less this year because of El Nino, and next year looks even more dangerous. So what steps has the govt taken to augment supply?” he said.
