BENGALURU: The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) appears confident of tiding over the approaching summer without major hiccups. The BWSSB has put in place measures to avoid a repeat of water shortage seen in 2017 and 2018. They are, adequate water in source reservoirs, 107 bore wells sunk a couple of years ago, additional pumping of 100 Million Litres of Water per day (MLD) from Thoraikadanahalli reservoir and the Unaccounted For Water project that massively brought down water loss.
“No extraordinary measures were required to manage the water position this summer as no scarcity is expected,” BWSSB Chairman Tushar Girinath told The New Indian Express. The rains lasted till October last year and there is sufficient water available, he added.
A major improvement effected over the previous years was the sinking of 107 borewells across the City in 2017. “The borewells are already providing us with good yield and a maximum of 18,000 litres per day can be taken from each of them if required,” Girinath said. Asked if additional tankers would be deployed, the Chairman ruled it out. Chief Engineer (Kavery) S V Ramesha pointed out that both water sources to the city were on solid ground. “The KRS reservoir had 30.78 Trillion Million Cubic (TMC) feet of water while the Kabini reservoir had 12.27 TMC feet of water as on February 25,” he said.
Engineer-in-Chief (EIC) Kemparamaiah said that while 1,350 Million Litres of Water Per day was pumped from T K Halli reservoir two years ago, pumping is up by nearly 100 MLD this year. “Right now, we pump 1,450 MLD to 1453 MLD of water each day. This is the maximum possible and the additional water has really helped reach out to all areas of the city,” he said. The Board’s water tankers will be deployed wherever they are required, Kemparamaiah added. From March 1 to May 31, the BWSSB will post 31 staff members in each of its sub-divisions to keep tabs on water supply, in addition to 91 staffers already managing water distribution.
Only one-fourth opt for connections in 110 villages
Several people in 110 villages across K R Puram, Mahadevapura, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, Bommanahalli and Kengeri have declined BWSSB Cauvery water connections. BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief Kemparamaiah, said 16,994 households of nearly 60,000 have applied for water connections. It is only done online.
Of these, 9925 houses have paid the deposit, metre and pro-rata charges. The BWSSB has begun supply to 7,694 houses while the rest of the applications have been rejected. “We had earmarked 50 MLD for these areas but now just 12 MLD is sufficient to meet the requirements of those who have opted for our water,” he said. Asked to explain the lack of interest in availing Cauvery water, a senior official told TNIE, “Having availed borewell water supply all these years, the villagers now want Cauvery water too free of cost.”