BENGALURU: With the mercury soaring, BBMP has deployed 300 tractors to water plants in 1,287 parks under its limits using treated water from the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).
Deputy Director, BBMP Horticulture Department, Chandrashekhar said that an action plan to tackle the issue was ready in January. “By early March, water levels dipped in borewells in some BBMP parks, and we decided to deploy the tractors to collect treated water and water the plants,” he said.
He said that 30-40 tractor loads (each tractor carried 6,000 litres of treated water) are collected daily from STPs in Byrasandra, Nayandahalli, JC Road, Hebbal, Nagasandra, and Mahadevapura. “This arrangement will continue till May end or till when the monsoon begins,” he said.
Additionally, in close to 400 parks, NGO United Way Bengaluru has installed 1,000 rainwater recharge pits, significantly reducing the dependency on tractor water supply.
A BWSSB official said that the board charges Rs 20 per 1,000 litre of treated water. “The board also wants residents to utilise treated water for secondary purposes during summer to aid in water conservation,” he added.