BWSSB hopes to end for water woes

BWSSB hopes to end for water woes
S Lalitha

The year 2009 saw Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) taking up the work on the second phase of Cauvery Water Supply Stage IV.

The project, that would supply 500 Million Litres of Water Per Day (MLPD) to the City after its completion in 2012, is expected to redress the prevailing water shortage and cater to the requirements of the projected population then.

Groundwork

Much of the groundwork for the Rs 3,384-crore project funded by The Japan International Corporation Agency has been completed. Steel was transported to the City and tenders were awarded to convert the steel into pipes.

Foundation has been laid for groundlevel reservoirs and the groundwork for supply of water has to be carried out in the new year. On the other hand, the water tariff continues to be a worrying issue for citizens. The hike in power tariff is sure to cast a cascading effect on the water tariff as well.

With a hike of 35 paise per unit of power, an increase in the water tariff appears imminent.
This is because 50 pc of BWSSB’s revenue from water goes to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) due to power consumed in pumping of Cauvery water from T K Halli reservoir, located nearly 100 kms away from the City.

“Water tariff has remained stable for the last four years despite increase in power tariff and the hike effected this time is pretty steep,” a top official hinted.