BENGALURU: The Cauvery Water Supply Scheme - Stage V Project, which is slated to supply an additional 775 Million Litres of Water Per Day (MLD) to nearly 50 lakh residents in the City, will be able to do so only by March 2023. The wastewater component of the project will be ready by the end of 2023, said a senior official of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is funding the Rs 5,500-crore project. When completed, Cauvery water will be supplied to 110 villages spread across Mahadevapura, Dasarahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Byatarayanapura and Bommanahalli.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, BWSSB Chief Engineer, Kavery, S V Ramesh, said the pandemic-induced delays had made the project miss nearly four months of work. “It has all picked up pace now, but due to the disruption in work, the first phase of the project will now be ready by the first quarter of 2023 instead of the end of 2022. A total of 35 per cent of overall infrastructure work has been completed as on date. If you take the water supply alone, 45 per cent of the work is over,” he said.
The 14 Sewage Treatment Plants will take longer to be completed, probably by the end of 2023, Ramesh said. The pandemic has also ensured a shortage of equipment required for the project. “Mammoth pumps that can pump water at the rate of 5,000 cubic metres per hour are being imported from Japan. A total of 27 such pumps needs to be installed at the three pumping stations of Thorekadanahalli (TK Halli), Harohalli and Tataguni,” he said. In addition, hundreds of huge valves being purchased from Germany are yet to be supplied. “The pandemic has ensured shorter working hours for factories there and our orders are yet to be supplied,” he added.
Laying of transmission line from TK Halli to the City, the main trunk line, seven ground-level reservoirs, seven Intermediate Sewage Pumping Stations and the STPs are the key components of the project. The City presently receives 1,450 million litres of Cauvery water per day, which is pumped from a distance of nearly 90 km.
Water shutdown tomorrow
Bengaluru: Drinking water supply will be disrupted from 3 am to 9 pm on Wednesday (December 29) in many areas of the city to carry out replacement work of the corroded 250-mm dia bypass of the 2500 mm diameter butterfly valve at TK Halli. Among the areas that will be affected are Yelahanka, Jakkur, Byatarayanapura, Marthahalli, KR Puram, Nagarbhavi, Whitefield and KR Puram. The full list of affected areas will be available on www.karnataka.bwssb.gov.in