The acute water crisis gripping Visakhapatnam has cast a shadow over Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations in apartment complexes and gated communities across some areas in the city.
Residents grapple with skyrocketing prices for daily water tanker supplies. Grand community celebrations have been replaced by scaled-down rituals and tight budgets.
With groundwater tables plummeting and municipal water supply turning increasingly erratic, households in neighborhoods such as Madhurawada, PM Palem, and core city zones are forced to spend a substantial portion of their monthly earnings solely on purchasing water.
The mounting financial burden of securing tanker supplies for basic domestic needs has severely strained household budgets, leaving families with little to spare for festival contributions.
“Managing monthly household expenses, rent, and exorbitant water tanker bills leaves us with virtually no surplus for festival donations,” said a resident of a gated community in the city’s outskirts.
Traditionally, apartment welfare associations organised elaborate Ganesha festivities, featuring large decorative pandals, vibrant lighting, cultural events, and distribution of community prasadam. This year, however, the financial strain has forced communities to scale down.
The crisis has also forced communities to cancel customary mass dinners and cultural programs. Civic activists and resident welfare bodies point out the irony of celebrating a festival dedicated to prosperity while basic provisions like drinking water remain a luxury requiring daily struggle.
As Visakhapatnam prepares to welcome Lord Ganesha, citizens and urban planners alike are urging the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) to prioritise long-term water security measures to restore normalcy to the port city’s neighbourhoods.
Published – September 13, 2026 08:11 pm IST
