BENGALURU : Karnataka Industries Minister MB Patil held a meeting with various departments on Monday to discuss finding effective solutions to solve the drinking water problem faced by various industrial areas in the state.
Patil said that the industrial areas of Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, and Kolar districts are facing severe drinking water problems. Further, the Dharwad industrial area requires 45 MLD of drinking water daily that can be supplied from the Hidkal reservoir.
Likewise, the Vijayapura industrial area also needs to be supplied with the same amount of drinking water from the Krishna reservoir daily. Kalaburagi industrial area needs 7 MLD of drinking water from the Krishna and Bhima rivers, the Ballari industrial area needs 13 MLD from the Tungabhadra dam, and the Raichur industrial area needs 13 MLD from the Krishna river, he explained.
Expressing concern about the problem, Patil said, “Put together, all these districts require a total of 290 MLD of water daily. If the required water supply is not ensured, the industrial growth of the state will suffer.”
The industrial areas of Tumakuru, Bengaluru, Kolar, and Chikkaballapura located in the Old Mysuru region are already using treated wastewater for industrial purposes. However, there is a severe shortage of drinking water in these places. Hence, the availability of volume of water and sources from which it can supplied needs to be identified and another meeting would be held in this regard in a week or so, Patil added.
RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge, officials of BWSSB, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, and Rural Water Supply Department participated in the meeting.
Full-fledged entry to attract investment
Patil has initiated consultation meetings about creating a new full-fledged entry to attract continuous industrial investment to the state and promote reinvestment from existing industries, said a statement issued by the minister’s office. On Monday, he viewed presentations prepared by the Rajaneeti and the Boston Consultancy Group. Intending to focus on attracting new investments, an IAS officer will be appointed as the CEO of the proposed entity, and the stalwarts of private enterprises will also be hired on a contract basis on a full-time basis. Overall, it will function as a global standard entity, Patil elaborated.