Bengaluru's Rashad Nagar residents witness water mysteriously filling up their sumps daily

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board had conducted repeated tests to track the water source and stopped the water completely and even took the help of geologists to tackle the issue.
The water is not fit for consumption as it is hard water as tests show and could be groundwater
The water is not fit for consumption as it is hard water as tests show and could be groundwater

BENGALURU: The residents of Rashad Nagar near Nagawara Main Road have been facing a very different kind of water related issue for over a month. Clean water has been seeping through the sumps in their basement and filling it up and many have developed cracks too. While many residents spoken to point their fingers at the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and its ongoing underground tunnelling work for causing the issue, Metro officials ruled out their role.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had conducted repeated tests to track the water source, stopped water completely and even took the help of geologists to tackle the issue. “We are clueless. Anywhere in Nagawara where houses are in the basement, water starts emerging even if you dig 4 feet. Residents have just woken up to the problem the last two months but we have seen it happening for nearly six months,” said Channa Basavaiah, Assistant Executive Engineer, (East-2), BWSSB.

The water is not fit for consumption as it is hard water as tests show and could be groundwater, he said.

“We supply Cauvery water only twice a week and that too only for one or two hours. It is just not possible for any leaks to fill up sumps like this,” he said. However, he offered a possible answer to this.

“Our senior officers after spot inspection felt it could be due to a different Metro construction unrelated to tunnelling. BMRCL has built a 25-metre concrete structure below the ground opposite Arabic College for piling work for its upcoming Metro station here. It could possibly be blocking the pores below ground and the water could be finding an outlet like this,” he added.

BMRCL officials ruled out any chance of underground tunnelling causing any leakage. “The TBMs Bhadra and Tunga were drilling only between Venkateshwara Road and Tannery Road.  Our route next touches KG Halli and then only Nagawara. The impact of underground drilling cannot be felt a few kilometres away,” said a senior official.

Rashad Nagar residents are quite shaken up. Homemaker Khamar Taj said, “More water is always welcome. But the bigger problem is that we are worried that if water is stagnant below, it could weaken the foundation, risking our houses.

​Mohammad Nayaz Ur Rahman said, “We also found cracks in our sumps and tried to bring masons to fix it. But they say it could not be done as water was continuously seeping through.”

Javedullah Khan said, “We empty the sump and find it full the next day. I am really worried about my building with water seeping continuously like this.”

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