Forget power, it's time for water cuts

Forget power, it's time for water cuts

BWSSB's No Water Day plan leaves south Bangalore dry

Shwetha S. Bangalore

On Wednesday, when south and southeast Bangalore went without water for six hours, residents thought it was a problem. But what they didn't know was that it was an official problem. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has decided to cut water supply for an entire day to south and southeast Bangalore once every 15 days.
The move, the BWSSB says, will help the parched west and north Bangalore, which is struggling due to the dipping water levels at the Tippagondanahalli (TG Halli) reservoir. Now, the water level there is just 15 feet. "By diverting the Cauvery waters—the main water source for south and southeast Bangalore—to other parts of the city will help solve the supply problem," said BWSSB chief engineer T Venkataraju.
So, from now on there will 'no water day' for south and southeast Bangalore.
Residents, interestingly, have no idea of the BWSSB plan. The water board just decided to go ahead with the plan from April 28. It will cut water supply every alternate Wednesdays to south and southeast Bangalore between 12 noon and 6pm. Nitin SK, a resident of Jayanagar, said he and other residents had no clue about the cut. But BWSSB says there is no backing out. "It's implemented and will continue," said a BWSSB official. The water supply to north and west Bangalore from TG Halli reservoir is normally 30 million litres per day (mld). But as the water level dipped, more than 20,000 houses in north and west Bangalore are facing problems. BWSSB officials say south and southeast Bangalore consume 200 mld of water. "Only good rains in the catchments near Nandi Hills and Chikkaballapur will improve the situation," the official said. ìmore power to state