It’s summertime, yet BWSSB turns blind eye to leaks

As city faces its worst drinking water woes in 40 years, one of the main pipes that supply drinking water to Ulsoor has been leaking continuously for about a month , say residents.

The pipe near Ulsoor Gurudwara has been leaking for a month

BENGALURU: As city faces its worst drinking water woes in 40 years, one of the main pipes that supply drinking water to Ulsoor has been leaking continuously for about a month at 10 litres per minute, say the residents.

Ajay Sapra is a resident of the area and he noticed the leak on February 15. He says the leak could have been happening for a long time. On February 19, he filed a mail complaint to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and another complaint was filed on February 28. 

“It has been over 12 days since the matter has been brought to notice of the authorities but yet no action has been taken yet,” says Ajay.

However, this is not the first time the leak is happening.

On July 2010, a similar leak had happened in the same pipe and BWSSB had taken over three weeks to adopt measures. In March last year, we noticed the leak. “Last year it took three days for the authorities to acknowledge the leak and ten days to repair it,” adds Ajay, who is also the member of Halasuru Residential Welfare Association.

“There is already a shortage of water and if this continues we are scared there will be no drinking water in the area next month,” says V Purushotham, President of Halasuru RWA.

Calling it a “criminal wastage”, he adds that the authorities seem least concerned and the residents watch the water go to waste as they pass by the area.  When City Express contacted BWSSSB, they were unavailable for comment.

A N Yellappa, an environmentalist believes that this shows ignorance and neglect not only in the system but also when it comes to dealing with natural resources. “With technologies such as mobile phones, how hard is it to rush to the address and fix the problem?” questioned the environmentalist.

He further examines that the pipe could be at fault and should be replaced. “The durability of the pipe depends on the quality used,” he adds, pointing towards neglect.

The pipe is about two feet in diameter according to Ajay. He says he did not register a telephonic complaint this time. “They insist on noting my address instead of the inquiry and the location of the problem,” he says  validating his mail complaint.