BANGALORE: The exponential growth of the city area (including the erstwhile eight urban local bodies), has pushed up Bangalore’s water requirements over the roof. Water demand in the summer season shoots up anywhere between 20 to 40 per cent in the city. Vigyanapura is feeling the heat already, with absolutely no water supply.
This area was promised new connections under the upcoming Cauvery project. But from the past one month, the residents have been drawing water from the water tankers who charge exorbitant rates. The area corporator Sukumar has pitched in with 25 loads of water supply for the population of 15,000 due to the increase in the panic calls from the public because of no water supply. He said, “Earlier, I use to get around 50 calls a day from different areas. But this time, I get around 200 calls per day pertaining to water scarcity. Each day around 40 tractors with 4,000 litres capacity and 5 tankers with 7,000 liters capacity are supplied.”
The city at present receives around 900 million litres of water per day (MLD) ,while the demand in the core areas alone is around 1250 MLD. Earlier, in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) monthly council meeting, a few corporators brandished empty pitchers in the council, demanding the council to make arrangements for drinking water through the BWSSB. Complaining about a similar problem in Bangalore East zone’s Pulekashnagar Constituency, Congress corporator from DJ Halli, Sampath Raj and Kushalnagar corporator Noorjahan Sherieff had barged into the Council with empty plastic pitchers. Sampath has been demanding water supply in every council meet. “Due to lack of water, citizens of the ward hurl abuses at us and we have nothing to convince them. The BWSSB has failed in its obligatory duty,” Sampath said.
If the expanded area of the BBMP is considered, which is including all the eight urban local bodies, they require around 300 MLD of water.
The water supply promised under the new Cauvery project has been severely hit, post the infighting within the government. The 550 MLD capacity project was to add 200-250 MLD to the daily supply in the city. But, that will evidently take time.
In the absence of the regular Cauvery water supply, the areas coming under the recently added wards to the BBMP have seen a proliferation of illegal and fraudulent touts who promise to give water supply connections to the citizens. The BBMP has now kept a hawk’s eye on such touts.