BENGALURU: Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is all set to revive the historical Soladevanahalli pumping station to pump water to Bengaluru to tide over the water shortage in the city. Soladevanahalli pumping station pumped water from the Hesaraghatta lake across river Arkavathi, which once supplied potable water to several parts of Bengaluru in 1896. Spread over 450 hectares, Hesaraghatta lake was built across river Arkavathi and was supplying water to the city. Since 1998, the lake dried up due to poor inflow and urbanisation and the villagers began using the lakebed as grazing land.
As of now the Hesaraghatta lake, which is around 25 km from the city has 0.3 tmcft of water in it. BWSSB is gearing up to pump the water, treat it at Soladevanahalli pumping station and then pump it to the water reservoir at MEI Layout from where it will be supplied to the needy areas in Bengaluru through tankers.
BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasath Manohar, who visited the pumping station recently, said, “Bengaluru was the first city to have a systematic water supply in the country almost 128 years ago. In the year 1873, through a series of reservoirs known as the Miller’s Tanks, water was supplied to Bengaluru.
After the great famine that hit the city between 1875-1877, water bodies dried up, which forced the then Diwan of Mysuru, Seshadri Iyer, to channel water from river Arkavathi through Hesaraghatta. As a result, the Soladevanahalli pumping station was set up in the year 1896.”
Stating that the water board is taking up measures to supply water to the city in case if there is no rain in the month of May, Manohar said, “Water was pumped from Soladevanahalli pumping station to prevent any famine in Bengaluru. We have directed officials to revive the pumping station by April 20 and supply 0.3 tmcft of water, which is available in the Hesaraghatta lake.”