BENGALURU: Despite sufficient water being available for supply in the city, water supply distribution inside Bengaluru has been erratic in a few areas in April. The unexpected power disruptions at the local level need to be blamed for the artificial shortage created, says the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
The BWSSB has appealed to the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) to provide 'Express Lines' to all its local pumping stations between April and June so that water supply across the city continues uninterrupted.
There is no disruption when pumping 1,380 million litres of water per day from T K Halli to the City as a dedicated 220 KV power line is in place at Somanahalli. However, it is only internal distribution that suffers at a few places.
Engineer-in-Chief (EIC)(In-charge) Kemparamaiah told The New Indian Express that the water board had 75 booster pumps spread across the city that pump water from the ground level reservoirs across different areas.
"The booster pumps are located at Yagnalli, Jumbo Savari, Kothur Dinne, Bull Temple Road, Yelahanka, Srikantakaval, CGF, Halasuru, Narayanapura, OMBR, Halasuru and High Grounds, and Srikantakaval," he said. Each station has two to three pumps ranging in capacity from 90 HP to 375 HP, he said. While Srikantakaval, CGF, Yagnalli and Kothur Dinne have been provided such Express Lines, it would really help if the remaining areas too get them.
Providing the Express Line does not require any infrastructure creation. "All that they need to do is change the switch from one line to another so that in case of any disruption, supply to our pumping stations will not get affected," he said.
Asked about how exactly it impacted, the BWSSB official said that pumps had to be switched on again after the disruption takes place. "Pumps of 100 HP and above definitely require uninterrupted power supply. A small power disruption ensures a delay of three to four hours in restarting. The supply of water then gets pushed to the next day," he said.
Top BESCOM officials were not aware of the request for Express Line connectivity. When asked about it, the EIC said that "The engineers at the sub-division level have requested the local BESCOM executive engineers in their respective areas to provide this."