Project ZAM ZAM
Free water for Bengaluru's slums during the city's worst water crisis.
- When
- March – June 2024
- Where
- Tannery Road, Hegde Nagar, Nagawara, Hoodi & surrounding slums
- Status
- concluded
In early 2024, Bengaluru experienced an unparalleled water crisis. Groundwater had collapsed; BWSSB tankers couldn’t navigate the narrow lanes of the city’s slum settlements. The brunt fell on the people with the least cushion to absorb it.
Mobilisation
Starting 29 March 2024, ABF deployed four small goods vehicles, each fitted with a 3,000-litre tank with taps for filling buckets and bottles. The smaller chassis was deliberate — it could navigate slum lanes that BWSSB’s standard tankers physically cannot.
Within weeks, Sunpure Oil donated a 35,000-litre grand vessel — a single delivery of which moved more water than BWSSB’s smaller fleet could deliver in three days.
Where we operated
- Tannery Road
- Hegde Nagar
- Nagawara
- Hoodi Village (East Division — 1.8 million litres in 45 days from a single vehicle)
Recognition
Dr. Ram Prasath IAS, Chairman of BWSSB, formally recognised ABF as an official CSR and collaboration partner for all of BWSSB’s initiatives, with full cooperation and support assured for future endeavours.
Press
- The New Indian Express: “NGO supplies 50,000l of water in tanks to slums in North Bengaluru”
- News Karnataka: “‘Active Bengaluru’ Provides Water Relief to Slum Residents”
- Bangalore Mirror: “Collective effort of compassion and relief from Bengaluru to Tuticorin”
What this taught us
Static infrastructure is not the only answer in a crisis. Mobility, modular tanks, and last-mile responsiveness matter as much as supply. We carried this lesson into our Disaster Equipment Bank thinking.