BENGALURU: The Rs 5,500-crore project to supply drinking water to 110 villages in the city’s peripheral areas will be commissioned only by the end of May 2024.
This marks a further delay for the Japan-funded Cauvery Water Supply Stage V project. The latest revised deadline for water supply was specified as February/March next year.
Chairman of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Prashanth Manohar told TNIE, “The work order was issued in 2020 with a 36-month completion deadline. Due to COVID-19 and issues in the aftermath of it, the project got delayed. It is only a 9-month delay. We are on track now. All the infrastructure will be in place by March 2024 and we will be commissioning the project by May.”
The State government had given the project a six-month extension from its July 2023 deadline to December 2023. A few months ago, top BWSSB officials were confident of commissioning it within the first quarter of 2024.
Spread across 225 sq km, the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) is funding 84% of the project cost while the BWSSB and the State government is funding 8% of the cost.
When commissioned, 775 million litres of water per day will be provided to the villages in Mahadevapura, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bommanahalli, Dasarahalli, Yelahanka, KR Puram and Byatarayanapura. Ten trillion million cubic (TMC) metres of water has already been sanctioned a decade ago to ensure supply for it.
“Water is being supplied once a week or even twice a week to more than half the villages in question. After we commission it, they will get regular water supply,” said an official.
The project has encountered numerous issues - the Ukraine and Russia stand-off disrupted the supply chain, heavy rains flooded the project site and the overflowing of the Bheema River have impacted its early completion too.
Nine ground-level reservoirs that will store the water are being built. One each will come up along the water supply route of Torekadanahalli (TK Halli) Harohalli, and Tataguni which will also have new pumping stations. The other six GLRs are being built at Gottigere, Doddakanahalli, Kadugodi, SMV Layout VIth Block, Lingadeeranahalli and Singapura.