BENGALURU, May 14 (Reuters) - Basavaraj, a water tanker

driver in India's tech hub Bengaluru, has to leave home by 6:30

a.m. each day to collect enough water for his customers, who now

depend on his services for a very basic need.

Residents of the southern city of 14 million people, capital

of Karnataka state and often called "India's Silicon Valley",

have been reeling due to water shortages amid unusually hot

weather.

Photo essay: https://reut.rs/3UC5RwY

The 22-year-old fills up his tanker at a man-made pool fed

by four boreholes in the north of the city, then does rounds of

four or five buildings whose residents are his regular

customers.

The pool's owner Nandish says he can supply fewer tankers

now.

"Around 40 tankers used to come here every day earlier but

now only about 15-20 come as water from the bore wells has also

reduced," he said.

Once dotted by lakes and forest cover, Bengaluru has lost

79% of its bodies of water and 88% of its green cover over 40

years, while areas covered by concrete have increased 11-fold,

according to the Indian Institute of Science.

With summer yet to reach its peak, water tanker dealers

began charging some residents almost double the amount per

tanker, forcing the state government to cap prices at 1,200

rupees ($14) per unit - triggering a brief strike by some water

tank providers.

Daisy, 60, lives close to Basavaraj and next to a privately

owned borehole supplying water locally for free. The water is

purified for drinking, and the waste water is drained out, but

even that liquid is in demand now.

"We had to fight with the owner of the borewell to give us

waste water," Daisy said. "We use it to wash dishes and

clothes."

($1 = 83.5300 Indian rupees)