BWSSB turns the tap off on new flats, offices

BWSSB turns the tap off on new flats, offices

Upcoming residential, commercial complexes will have no water connections till 2011

Srikanth Hunasavadi. Bangalore

Buying a new flat or an office in the city? Here's a piece of advice. Ensure you have enough water till 2011 because the state government is not going to help.
With water crisis looming large over the city, the government has decided not to provide new water connections to upcoming residential or commercial complexes anywhere in Bangalore till 2011.
"The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is facing a severe water shortage even as the demand for water is increasing day by day. We have decided not to give new water connections for residential and commercial complexes till Cauvery 4th stage 2nd phase work is completed in 2011," said BWSSB minister Katta Subramanya Naidu.
According to Naidu, about 30% of the work on Cauvery 4th stage has been completed. "The work is in progress and is expected to be ready by November 2011," he said.
The completion of works on the project will provide an additional 500 million litres per day (MLD) of water to Bangalore and the situation is expected to improve, he said.
"Till then, we cannot supply sufficient water to Bangaloreans. And we have decided not to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) for apartments or commercial complexes unless they have made their own arrangement for water supply," Naidu said.
The BWSSB is preparing an action plan keeping in mind the growing demand in the next 50 years. "We are also tapping sources of water including various rivers and tanks to meet Bangalore's demand," he said.
The board, along with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), is digging four bore wells in each of the 198 wards in Bangalore, besides implementing the rainwater harvesting plan for which 20,000 houses in the city have already installed the systems.
It is also planning to add one service station in each ward to solve water and sewage problems. Bangalore already has 148 such service stations.