Bangalore civic body to buy 60 tankers to ferry water to needy

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to purchase tankers for providing drinking water to residents after a series of discussion with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom).

Felicitating outgoing city mayor SK Nataraj and deputy mayor N Dayanand on Thursday at the council, BBMP commissioner Siddaiah said Palike is all set to take initiative in providing drinking water to the needy.

“The BBMP, along with BWSSB and Bescom officials, held discussions on how to tackle water problem in the city. The BWSSB has 127 water tankers that also includes private tankers. There is a shortage of 60 tankers. So the BBMP is purchasing 60 water tankers by spending about Rs6 crore to Rs7 crore. This way, each ward will get one water tanker to provide 24 hours service. BWSSB will provide unlimited drinking water free of cost to the needy.  It has also set aside Rs50 crore for digging borewells in various places including the newly added CMC areas,” Siddaiah said.

When JD(S) leader Padmanabha Reddy charged that the BBMP is just giving tall promises when it badly needs more tankers for wards in the grip of water crisis, Siddaiah said according to BWSSB officials, the city is getting more water this year than last year.

“However, BWSSB officials said they are facing problems with Bescom’s power interruption and could not supply water. Earlier, for every water tank, people used to pay Rs250. But after the discussions, we are providing it free of cost”, he said.

Later, the council approved multi media education (MME) for SSLC and pre-university students of BBMP schools and colleges at Rs5 crore per year. This initiative aims to provide technical education to these students so that they can compete with students of private institutions.

But MME generated heat in the council with opposition leader M Nagaraj and Reddy opposing BBMP’s move to award tender to Keonics company.

“We are not opposed to the initiative of providing technical education to BBMP students. We oppose providing tender to Keonics, as the firm’s contract term expired on March 23. How can the BBMP provide MME to Keonics? If the BBMP wants transparency, it should call a tender through e-procurement,” Reddy said. While asking the BBMP to drop the idea of awarding tender to Keonics, he questioned whether the firm had experience in MME and how many staffers were trained in MME.

“Let them first give a presentation on MME to the council. Later, the council can approve of the tender,” Reddy said.

Mayor  Natraj defended the move saying Keonics was a government-aided institution and there was nothing wrong in awarding them the contract.

Siddapura corporator Udayshankar said there was already power shortage in BBMP schools and Palike should first provide power to buildings before taking up such projects. “BBMP is giving computers and multimedia education, but, before that, it should ensure there is steady power supply to these schools”, he said. Ruling party leader Katte Satyanarayana read out the proposals and got them approved without any proper discussion by its members.