KINDNESS FLOWS FROM COPS

KINDNESS FLOWS FROM COPS
Mico Layout police turn saviours for over 2,000 water-deprived residents, permitting them to access water from their borewell,free of cost
SUCHITH KIDIYOOR


Believe it or not, the Mico Layout police have turned saviours for over 2,000 residents. Reason: The cops are playing water suppliers!
The residents—who were at the mercy of the water mafia after the supply of Cauvery water was stopped by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) since the last one week—are now heaving a sigh of relief as the cops are allowing them to draw water from the borewell inside the police station premises.
“It was a desperate situation. We did not have any water and we did not know where to source the water as no help was forthcoming from the BWSSB and the BBMP. That is when the cops displayed their generosity by allowing us to access their water,” a resident told Bangalore Mirror. But the best part of it all is that the cops are allowing the residents to draw water free of cost!
The move has left the water mafia (private operators who supply water) angry as they have been thwarted from taking advantage of the scarcity. Syed Arshad Aga, a resident of the area, told BM, “Earlier, private suppliers of water were charging Rs 400 for a tanker but taking advantage of the grim situation, they increased the price to Rs 1,500-Rs 2,300 per tank. Even if we were ready to purchase water from them, we had to book much in advance as the suppliers would take their own sweet time to deliver the water. Those who could not afford to pay the hefty amount had no option but to suffer.”
What compounded the woes of the people is that the two hand-pumps, which were actually meant to substitute BWSSB water in the area, also conked. Those who had borewells in the area were not philanthropic enough to share water with the needy. Aga said, “That is when we approached the police for help.”
The police station, recently inaugurated, is equipped with a borewell and an underground water tank. The cops are permitting residents to source water from their tank. Raja, a software engineer and another resident, said, “Whenever we approach the cops, they switch on the pump and ensure that we get water. By reducing our water woes, the cops have prevented us from being driven to insanity.”
The police station is located close to the residence of Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari and other senior bureaucrats. When BM spoke to police inspector C N Janardhan, he said, “Police personnel are there to serve society. The borewell that belongs to the station is also public property. We are bound to provide water on humanitarian grounds and we have done that.”
But the gesture of the cops has won them laurels from the public. Said Aga, “We want to thank them through Bangalore Mirror. Thank you.”