Bangalore corporators don’t spare a thought for water woes

M Nagaraj, opposition leader in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has finally agreed to allow fruitful discussion in the council without disturbance or walkouts.

However, the 198 ward corporators who raised a hue and cry over the shortage of water in their  wards for the past 11 months failed to give details of the number of water tankers they required from the BBMP this summer, to tide over the water crisis. The mayor had earlier requested a list.

Nagaraj, known to have disrupted discussions in the past, has promised to allow the council to function without disruption, after reporters took him to task recently for unnecessarily walking out of the council hall when issues pertaining to water were scheduled for discussion.

“I did not know that there was a discussion on water. In the next meeting, we will participate in a healthy discussion, without disturbing the meeting,” he said.

But mayor SK Nataraj contradicted Nagaraj’s statement. “We did inform him. Instead of discussing the problem, he started talking against chief minister Yeddyurappa, and we had to adjourn the meeting,” he said.

The mayor also said that ¤50 crore will be earmarked for borewells in all wards. He said that on the basis of written requests from ward corporators, borewells would be allotted. He added that no requests had yet been received.

BJP corporator from Shivanagara, Manjunath suggested that the BBMP look at options to draw water from Hemavathi or the Western Ghats to replenish the TG Halli reservoir. “We cannot depend solely on borewells and Cauvery water to quench the city’s thirst. TG Halli is an important reservoir that may provide a lasting solution to the northern and eastern parts of the city facing water crisis,” he said.

‘Meet’ market
The BBMP council meeting was held on Friday. Like always, the council started an hour late, at 12 pm. Congress Jayamahal ward corporator MK Gunashekar raised the budget issue. Opposition leader M Nagaraj dragged the issue of chief minister BS Yeddyurappa not allotting ¤1300 crore for the BBMP. This ignited heated arguments between the Congress and the BJP corporators.

The ruling party leader BS Satyanarayana blamed Nagaraj for disrupting the meeting. “Nagaraj should be ashamed of himself. Due to his behaviour, the chief minister is not willing to attend the council meeting.”

Nagaraj retorted, “The chief minister does not have the guts to come to the council meeting.”

The remark infuriated BJP corporators and they started protesting in the well of the council, demanding that the mayor send the opposition leader out of the hall.  The mayor adjourned the meeting for 15 minutes.
The meeting resumed at 1.05 pm. The Congress corporators walked out of the council hall. JD(S) leader Padmanabha Reddy insisted on discussions on subjects earlier approved.

Reddy said that Congress and BJP are the two faces of the same coin. Due to their arguments in the council, the JD(S) corporators are not able to air their views, he said.

BBMP commissioner Siddaiah said that 1,012 borewells have been promised this year, out of which 952 have been completed. He said that ¤25 crore has been spent on this, and additional ¤50 crore will be used to dig borewells in the wards. The BBMP has ordered the officials to prepare an action plan discussing the same with the local corporators and submit it before March 25.

Long-term solution?
Expressing concerns about the drying underground water in the city, JP Park councillor BR Nanjundappa said that borewells could not serve as the only solution for water crisis. He said that there should be a permanent solution rather than temporary fix-its. He pointed out that BWSSB is responsible for providing drinking water. He suggested that the BBMP should pay the rent to hire tankers, and BWSSB should take the initiative to provide water to the tankers, thereby circumventing the need for borewells.