Water Crisis Grips Capital, Car Wash Centers Face Losses

Since its establishment in 2013, Shine Cars, located in Kalkaji, has built a dedicated customer base hailing from various parts of the city, particularly South Delhi, who rely on its services for vehicle cleaning. Managed by 42-year-old Lucky Maurya, the store typically serves 7-8 customers daily.

However, over the past week, business has suffered due to Delhi’s water scarcity.

Maurya explained that they have had to reduce certain services, such as the pressure wash, which is popular among customers for its effectiveness in cleaning the vehicle’s underbody, in order to conserve water. This particular service is priced between Rs 650 and Rs 950.

When The Indian Express visited the store around 1 pm on June 3, a black Thar was leaving the store after a bucket wash, polishing and liquid wax cleaning. Next to it, a white Aveo’s interiors were being dry cleaned by a worker.

“Business has been hampered; yesterday, a customer grew angry because he needed a pressure wash. We gave him a discount to settle the situation,” said Maurya. He also offers customers liquid wax cleaning but this puts him at a marginal revenue loss of Rs 20 to Rs 25.

Amid the soaring temperatures and water shortage in the Capital, it is not just households that are bearing the brunt. Several in the car washing business are staring at a loss — of customers and income — owing to the crisis.

Maurya noted that the heat has impacted his employees as well, causing a slowdown in work and leading to customer dissatisfaction.

Over at Car Wash Kalkaji, located 1.5 km away, Neeraj Kumar sat inside his office, surrounded by more than a dozen 20-liter water canisters, which he purchases based on the daily needs. The 50-year-old remarked, “This year, the water scarcity is more pronounced compared to previous years. Smart utilization is crucial. I employ a combination of pressure water and bucket water as required.”

In South Delhi, Prakul, the proprietor of a small automobile service center, expressed frustration at having to close his shop as early as 4 pm due to insufficient water for providing services. He stated, “I can’t afford to install a steam wash due to its cost, and I also lack the space to recycle water…”

The situation has been particularly challenging for small car washing centers.

Vinod Kumar, who set up a temporary washing center in Shastri Market three months ago, faced substantial losses. In April, he had to lay off two employees before eventually closing down the business.

Currently, he earns a livelihood by operating a clothing shop on SN Road. He reminisced, “I used to charge only Rs 50 for a bike wash and Rs 100 for a car wash, but other establishments charge upwards of Rs 450. I couldn’t sustain the business when water demand increased during the summer.”

Maurya of Shine Cars added that the business is challenging as there are many players in the pool.

Others have shortened working hours to be able to sustain the business.

In Chanakyapuri, an automobile shop is now open from 9 am to 3 pm, from its earlier timing of 8 am to 10 pm. The manager, who did not wish to be named, said, “Water tankers (private ones) only come once in 4-5 days. We try to promote our German self-washing facility which uses 3-4 litres of water per vehicle as opposed to 15-18 litres of water used in manual cleaning.”