BENGALURU: With the mercury soaring and borewells in many parks maintained by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) witnessing low yield and some going even dry, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has come to rescue such parks through its recycled water.
According to Deputy Director, BBMP, Horticulture Department , Chandrashekhar, in about 23 Assembly constituencies, to ensure the survival of flora, the BBMP had asked the BWSSB to supply recycled water. As many as 23 tankers have been pressed into service each day to supply water. Each tanker can carry 6,000 litres of water.
“We have close to 1,000 parks in BBMP limits and in some, borewells have gone dry. The yield in some is very low and hence, a request was placed with BWSSB. Now 23 tankers supply water daily. The same arrangement shall continue till summer lasts to ensure the survival of plants and trees,” said Chandrashekhar.
An official from BBMP head office stated that a letter has been sent to senior officials for approvals to repair the borewells and also redrill borewells to go deep by another 100 to 200 feet to extract water only for park maintenance.
Meanwhile, some volunteers in KR Puram and surroundings have been watering plants in plastic pots. “Volunteers like Balaji Rogatham keep watering plants in lake park premises in Mahadevapura zone and they have been taking care of saplings as BBMP or BWSSB cannot water them,” said Ram Prasad, co-founder, Friends of Lakes.
At Varanasi Park in Mahadevapura, about 400 saplings were planted by volunteers last year and since the water supply has become an issue this year, people are bringing water from home and watering daily.
4,000 aerators installed in govt institutions
Following the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s direction that aerators should be installed in taps to ensure controlled flow of water and avoid wastage, 4,000 aerators have been installed so far. aAccording to BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasat Manohar, in the first phase, aerators were installed in all the offices of the BWSSB to motivate the public. In the second phase, 4,000 aerators have been installed by BWSSB at BDA, BSNL, Indira Canteens, Income-Tax, BBMP schools, ISRO, Beggars Colony, HAL, BEML, Silk Board, Kendriya Sadan, Defense, VV Tower, IAS Officers Association, RTO and police stations. “If we follow any new rules compulsorily, people will be more attracted to adopt them,” said Manohar.
BWSSB to meet trade bodies, appeal to them to use treated water
With the water scarcity issue looming large, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will be hold a meeting with trade bodies like FKCCI and KASSIA to increase the market of treated water. BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasath Manohar, who held a meeting with consumers of 20-40 lakh litre water on Thursday, said there are about 18,000 such consumers.
They are using about 200 MLD of water daily. By adopting the best conservation practices, it is possible to save water. The chairman noted that treated water is available and by using it properly, dependency on Cauvery water can be reduced. “Many new programmes are being launched to increase the market of treated water. A meeting with small industries, FKCCI and KASSIA will be held on Friday to convince them to use treated water,” Manohar said.