BWSSB water supply hits peak limit of 1453 MLD
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) reveals that it has been supplying water at the peak limit of 1453 MLD (Million Litres per Day) since March. The city’s consumption has reached an all-time high with the advancing summer and the depleting groundwater levels.
The Board says it cannot supply more water even if the demand shoots up. The supply will be within the limit of 1453 MLD until the Cauvery Phase V project is completed in 2023.
This is the first time that the city’s supply has hit the peak limit. Supply has been consistently increasing over the past few months. Officials said that till last December, they were supplying 1390 MLD water. This gradually increased to 1400, 1415, and to 1450 MLD. By March, the supply finally hit 1453 MLD.
BBMP committee against separate contractors for wet and dry waste collection
The new garbage tenders are to be opened on May 10th, and finalised a few days later. But a 15-member committee that had been put together to examine the tendering process has recommended that the same contractor should collect both wet and dry waste.
This contradicts what Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials had suggested a few months ago. BBMP had issued tenders for ward-wise collection of wet and dry waste by two separate contractors, so that waste would be segregated at source and would not get mixed.
While BBMP officials are shocked by the decision, the committee – headed by Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun – has suggested a colour-coded system for vehicles to collect different streams of waste. The colour-coded vehicles are to have audio explaining the codes to residents. Also, civic workers will be trained to handle the system.
The final decision on the terms of the tender is awaited.
Source: The Hindu | Deccan Herald
Garment workers protest against low wages
On May 1st, Bengaluru’s garment factory workers protested on the streets, demanding a hike in their minimum wages. These workers, most of whom are women, are paid the minimum wage of around Rs 8000 per month. This is 25 percent below the urban poverty line of Rs 10,800 a month. There are about 1200 garment units in Bangalore, that employ around 4.5 lakh workers.
The protest was led by the Garment Labour Union and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha. They demanded that manufacturers pay workers the minimum wage of Rs 11,587 per month, as had been suggested in a February 2018 draft notification of the state government. Manufacturers should pay these wages retrospectively for 2018-19, the workers demanded.
Source: The Wire | Scroll
Traffic cops take up civic works
The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has taken up civic works ahead of the monsoon, to make up for the delay by the BBMP’s workforce. By last Thursday, traffic police personnel had got 250 potholes filled and 40 clogged drains cleared.
A week ago, BTP had submitted a report to the BBMP on the infrastructural reasons for traffic congestion in the city. This included bad roads, footpaths and almost 46 waterlogged spots. As the report was stuck in red tapeism and procedural delays, P Harishekaran, Additional Commissioner of Police, had mooted the idea that the police themselves could take up the works.
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]