E-Paper
CM forms expert committee to address water crisis, says all steps adopted to meet shortage
Siddaramaiah called for an official meeting with the senior officers of BBMP and BWSSB to check the status of the drinking water crisis
Amid the rising drinking water concern, the Karnataka government on Monday decided to form an expert committee at the earliest to ensure no shortage of water in the capital city in future. It also decided to drill 300 new borewells and revive 1,200 inactive bore wells across the city.
The decision came after chief minister Siddaramaiah met Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) senior officials.
Siddaramaiah called for an official meeting with the senior officers of BBMP and BWSSB to check the status of the drinking water crisis. However, the official meeting was cancelled since the election model code of conduct is already in place. Siddaramaiah then had a closed door meeting with officials.
“Out of 14,000 government bore wells, 6,900 are dry. Hence, the problem. Out of 110 villages, 55 villages have problems. About 775 MLD (minimal liquid discharge) of additional water will be available after the completion of Cauvery Phase 5 work by the end of June. It supplies drinking water to 110 villages,” Siddaramaiah said after the meeting.
He further said, “We are drilling 300 new bore wells and 1,200 inactive bore wells will be revived.” The CM said that the government is confident in dealing with the crisis till June. “We have collected enough water for drinking water in Kaveri and Kabini reservoirs till the end of June. There is 11.02 TMC water storage in KRS, 9.02 TMC in Kabini,” Siddaramaiah said.
He also asked the civic bodies to use all private tankers including those owned by the Karnataka Milk Federation to supply water in slums, high areas and bore well dependent areas.
He reiterated the recent order by the BBMP that the drinking water should not be used in parks and other non drinking purposes. The CM also instructed the officers to fill the lakes of Bengaluru like KC Valley and 14 major lakes that have dried up to recharge the bore wells with groundwater.
Siddaramaiah ensured that there is no shortage of funds for drinking water. “The government and BBMP are providing sufficient funds,” he said.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah has warned the officials that if complaints from the public are not addressed, BBMP and BWSSB will be held accountable.
He further said that the city currently has a shortage of 500 MLD water. “2,600 MLD water is required for drinking and industries in Bengaluru city. Out of which 1,450 MLD water is obtained from Cauvery river. 650 MLD water is available from bore wells and there is a shortage of 500 MLD water. Necessary measures have been taken to overcome this shortage,” he said.
So far 1,732 water tankers are registered with the BBMP. An official release from BBMP Special Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said, “Water tankers which are registered with BBMP through the portal are already distributed among eight zones. Officials are asked to distribute more water in 110 villages which come under BBMP limits.”
Last week, the BBMP had capped the price of water tankers. According to the new guidelines, tankers supplying water within a 5-kilometre radius can charge ₹600 for 6,000 litres, ₹700 for an 8,000-litre tanker, and ₹1,000 for a 12,000-litre tanker.
