BENGALURU: While the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has prohibited the use of drinking water for car washing, gardening, and other non-drinking purposes, warning that violations will incur a fine Rs 5,000 fine-- citizens and water experts are questioning why the board isn’t supplying treated water for these needs.
They argue that the treated water supplied to each house in a separate pipeline will reduce the burden on the Cauvery River and address Bengaluru’s water shortage in the long run.
Currently, the water board supplies treated water via tankers for construction, industries, and bulk consumers through a pipeline system.
Citizen activist and founder of Bengaluru Praja Vedike NS Mukunda empahsised that instead of exploring costly alternatives like bringing water from Yettinahole, the government should focus on supplying treated water for non-potable needs through dedicated pipelines--just as it does for drinking water.
Mukunda estimates that laying a separate treated water pipeline could cost over Rs 6,000 crore but insists that this is inevitable. “Countries like Australia have already adopted this. Given Bengaluru’s growing population and increasing pressure on Cauvery River water, supplying treated water will curb groundwater exploitation and reserve raw Cauvery water for agriculture.”
He suggested that a part of the money for the treated water supply project should aim to create awareness about water scarcity and make people understand that it is impossible to keep drawing raw water from Cauvery in proportion with the swelling population.
“Cauvery water should be supplied only if households commit to using treated water for non-potable needs. Whether today or tomorrow, this transition is necessary,” he said.
Water expert Ram Prasad, who is also the co-founder of Friends of Lake said that supplying treated water in separate pipelines is very much possible but expressed disappointment that the water board has not yet completed the Cauvery water supply to all Bengaluru households. In chorus with Mukunda’s view, Prasad said that people should be convinced to use treated water.
While BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasath Manohar was not available for comments, a senior BWSSB official, who did not wish to be named, maintained that the cash-strapped board is already contemplating to hike the water tariff to meet the operational expenses. “It is inevitable that one day we will have to depend on treated water. However, the board is currently not in a position to take up such big-ticket projects.”