WITHOUT these 200 tankers - rusting and leaking ponderously - Delhi would be panting. And these dinosaurs come closest to the prices Delhi's people should actually be paying.

While the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) charges Rs 250 for a tanker of 10 kl capacity, private tankers get anything between Rs 200 to Rs 400, depending on distance, the tanker's capacity, the season and how well-heeled the pleader is.

Besides the grim possibility that municipal tankers could be parked at public rallies, government functions and Delhi's eternal crop of dripping new highrises, they often have to be booked a full fortnight in advance; and the private tanker companies prosper. "They are fast outstripping us," says S K Gupta, NDMC executive engineer.

Sandeep Babal, owner of Bahal Tankers, thte largest private tanker water outfit in the city, says that he "supplies 60 tankers daily on the average. In summers, we sometimes exceed 250 a day." A full decade in the business, the enterprise has an annual turmover of roughl Rs 45 lakc grom just 10 tankers. "We can chage posh Vasant Vihar, which has tankers doing the rounds on alternate days in summer, : anything we want", he says.

The cost of filling up a tanker - largely electricity and vehicle maintenance overheads- is minor compared to the profits. The basic cost of water is next to nothing," says shakitpal of Part-time tanker operator.

For the big ones, the electricity bills are whopping in real terms but nevertheless paltry. Bahal pays almost RS 60,000 for the peak months of April, May and June but the returns upto Rs - 75 per hour for waiting charges as standbys in marriage parties make up for everything.