BENGALURU: BWSSB is going in for a massive water shutdown on Wednesday and Thursday to take up the work to stop a six-month-old leak in the main transmission water pipeline from Thorekadanahalli (TK Halli) to the city.
The pipeline was leaking earlier too, but over the last few days, the wastage has surged to one million litres per day (MLD). The city gets water from Shiva Anaicut reservoir along Cauvery river, travelling a distance of over 100 km. It reaches the TK Halli reservoir by gravity and then pumped to the city through three pumping stations and mammoth pipelines.
The city receives between 1,462 and 1,475 MLD of water daily. SR Hemanth Kumar, Executive Engineer, BWSSB, TK Halli, told The New Indian Express, "The pipeline was laid in 2002. An isolation valve needs to be replaced as it is damaged. The site is at Gublala village, which is a short distance from TK Halli. We will replace a portion of this 5.6 km pipeline with a new pipe and valve. We have to shut down the water supply to carry out the work."
The work could take 16 to 18 hours. "A large amount of water from the pipe has to be drained out before starting the work," he explained.
The main pipeline enters the city at two points Kothanur Dinne (near Puttenahalli Lake) and Hegganahalli (near Beggars’ Colony). Water is then pumped to ground-level reservoirs across Bengaluru, he said. He added that areas that get water through the Cauvery Water Stage IV (Phase-I) will be affected
The BWSSB had planned to take up the work two months ago. "The leak was minimal then. But we could not take it up because of COVID and labour shortage," he said.