Sanjaynagar parched

Sanjaynagar parched
The Times of India

Bangalore: Irregular water supply, thirsty people and a looming crisis. That is what Sanjaynagar residents are facing.

The ever-persistent problem of water supply continues to remain, leading to a lot of stress among residents, says B V Rangaswamy, Secretary of the Residents’ Welfare Association.

CIL Layout, AECS Layout, Postal Layout, KEB Colony and Amarjyothi Layout face a problem of irregular and inadequate supply. Residents say they do not get water at the same time every day, forcing many to buy water from private suppliers, says Rangaswamy.

The problem seems to have arisen due to increase in the number of layouts in the area over the last 20 years. The uneven topography of the place means low-lying areas get better supply. There is also the problem of depleting ground water level owing to a large number of borewells.

Rangaswamy also points to the specific problems of old and small diameter pipes in the area leading to low supply of water. Poor valve management is also contributing to the water crisis, he adds.

Assistant Engineer (Works) Chandrashekar admits to occasional hitches, but denies there is a crisis.
“Sure, there may be some minor problems here and there, but the overall supply is regular. We used to supply water for eight hours to Sanjaynagar earlier. With expansion, we increased to 17 hours. Even then there may be lapses in supply owing to shortfall in our intake. We try our best to maintain supply in the given hours. Even then if there are complaints, we will respond immediately,” he maintains.

The official says power interruptions have led to problems in the last two months, but the situation has improved in the last 15 days. Valve complaints will be looked into and a new one will be installed on II Main road. He clarifies that the diameter of pipes — 4 inches — is a fixed standard for all layouts.

Other problems
Sanjaynagar residents don’t just have to put up with water woes. There are a host of other problems that need attending to, say residents.

Unfinished drain: An unfinished, uncovered storm water drain in RMV II Stage means not only foul smell, but also clogging. Residents say every time it rains, water from Mehkri Circle, Tata Institute and CPRI areas flow into the drain only to get clogged near Dr Sreenivasa Road. The situation gets so bad that the water enters houses. A sewage line that empties into the drain further adds to the problem. The Residents’ Welfare Association says a contractor began the work three years ago, but has not yet completed it.

AE Muninagappa disagreed. “Only 10 feet of the drain near RMV II Stage needs to be covered. It will be done soon. The contractor is not keeping good health. As soon as he recovers, work will resume. For the other part of the drain near the Club, work will commence in April.’’ Hutments: Hutments located near a children’s park in AECS Layout are causing health problems, particularly among children, owing to lack of sanitation facilities for the dwellers. High tension wires on the hutments are also potentially dangerous. Roads: The Association has pointed out that re-laying of a few roads needs to be taken up immediately, as promised.