BWSSB says it has enough water for city till April. Situation after that may be not so safe though.
Availability of water may not reach a crisis point this summer, with the BWSSB stating that it has 200 MLD of water more than what it had in March 2012, which should give Bangaloreans and the BWSSB enough breathing space.
Addressing corporators and mediapersons at the TK pumping station, Gaurav Gupta, managing director, BMTC, said, “The requirement for water in the city has grown as the city itself has grown. However, the extra 200 MLD, thanks to the commissioning of the Cauvery stage IV phase 2, has ensured that the situation will not be too scary.”
The city requires 18 TMC ft of water every year with a monthly consumption of 1.5 TMC ft. This year, the board can supply 200 MLD of extra water to Bangalore until April, then use booster pumps to lift water from KRS, he added.
Concerned about pilferage of water, Gupta added that this would be brought under control, with the BWSSB readying to set out on a drive to remove illegal connections, and ensuring all water connections are metered, and water charges collected.
The fact that there are too many illegal connections can be proven by statistics with the BWSSB, said T Venkatraju, chief engineer of the BWSSB. “The city houses 16 lakh properties which are registered in the BBMP. However, statistics available with us say that there are only 7.15 lakh connections. This shows that less than 50% of the properties have legal water connections,” he said.
The board recently got funding from JICA, which can only be invested in new projects and not be used to replace old pipes or for repairs, Gupta said. He requested elected representatives to bring the issue of illegal connections to BWSSB’s notice so that the issue can be addressed.
The hunky-dory situation, may however, last only till May. Officials said while the situation can be controlled for the moment, with the Cauvery water from the newly commissioned stage 4, phase 2, the city may face problems from May when 2.4 TMC ft of water has to be given to Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the mayor has called for a meeting with corporators on February 23, along with BWSSB officials. Corporators can file written complaints with regard to water which will be addressed by the BWSSB.
Venkatesh said he would take up these complaints, addressing them by March 15.
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