BENGALURU: The ambitious plan to rejuvenate the Arkavathy river, so as to augment water supply to the city by 135 Million Litres Per Day is just not taking off. The Israeli firm Ayala had submitted a plan for the same and tenders were called to implement the idea. However, given the poor response during the three rounds of tendering, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), issued a fresh round of tenders.
The stretch of Arkavathy between Hessarghatta Lake and T G Halli Reservoir is the portion, the Board plans to rejuvenate so that fresh water can flow into this project. The reservoir had been the main source of water for Bengaluru since 1933. However, water from the reservoir had been categorised as unfit for consumption in 2012.
Chief Engineer, Cauvery, P N Ravindra told Express: “There was just one qualified bidder in the third round of tenders opened in August, the Bellary-based Akhil Infra Projects Private Limited. However, their quote was exorbitant, so we rejected it.” The Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by Ayala in January 2016 called for creating a wetland along both sides of the Arkavathy river by growing plants along the river bed to absorb the pollutants. Ravindra added that the response in the tenders had been few had the expertise to execute the project.