BENGALURU: Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Chairman Ramprasath Manohar on Saturday said that the board has adequate water for supply in the city and its outskirts till July. His clarification comes in the wake of reports that Bengaluru is likely to face a drinking crisis in the coming days.
Manohar appealed to the media not to create panic on the matter. The board supplies 1,470 MLD of water daily. Once the Cauvery fifth stage project is commissioned on May 15, Bengaluru will get an additional 775 MLD of water. The city and its outskirts need 2,100 MLD of water, he said.
People residing on the outskirts of the city depend on borewells. Many lakes are on the verge of drying up and this has also affected them, he added. Four dams in the Cauvery basin, have sufficient water to meet the needs of the city. “The city needs only 1.54 tmcft of water a month. Apart from the city, its outskirts also depend on Cauvery water. The city and its outskirts need 17 tmcft of water till July. The dams now have 34 tmcft of water,” he said.
He said the board has appealed to those living on the outskirts, to use treated water for secondary purposes. About 1,300 MLD water is available daily. “This apart, the board will take experts’ suggestions to fill the lakes in the city with treated water to help recharge the groundwater table,” he added.
The board has issued a work order to drill 200 borewells and work will start soon. In the 110 villages brought under the city limits, there are only 40,000 BWSSB water connections as work on the Cauvery fifth stage project is yet to be completed. Free water is being supplied through 79 tankers to the affected areas.
Meanwhile, R Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, said that his party workers will protest on Monday. Reacting to this, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar asked the Opposition parties to give constructive suggestions to overcome the shortage of drinking water.
