Bwssb

As I write this, I hear the noise of yet another borewell being dug on my street. This is the ninth one since December 2011; all within a radius of less than half kilometre, in Kalyan 1st block, HRBR Layout. This is happening at a time when the newly formed Karnataka Ground Water Authority is trying to gather force.45 houses in HRBR layout were surveyed informally for this piece. Ground water levels, availability of corporation water, implementation of rain water harvesting (RWH) are some of the things that were looked at. What I found out could be the reality across…

Koramangala 1st block, 1st cross, has sewage water overflowing on the roads. The overflow leaves an unbearable stench. This problem has been persisting for over four months now. Residents believe that garbage dumped inside the sewage drains by the restaurants around and the nearby Sulabh public toilet, is causing it to overflow. BWSSB says the pipeline carrying the sewage is too narrow to carry the load and the problem is being examined. Dr. Malini Jayasurya, a resident, says, "we have complained several times to BWSSB. They come, charge money, clean up and go. The next day, situation is the same."…

One cool morning in February 2012, I drove up across town to Hesaraghatta Lake. As we approached the embankment, my excitement rose and I ran up the steps. They had told me it was big. What I had not realized was just how big this lake was. I could not see the edges on the far side. All 3000 acres of it used to brim with water, fed by the Arkavati River. That day, it was dry. Bone dry. For the first time in seven years there was no water in Hesaraghatta Lake. And, unfortunately, this was no exaggeration. Hesarghatta…

Over hundred families in Aatmajyothi Nagar in Nayandahalli are drinking toxic water, with nearly 12 times the acceptable nitrate levels, from borewells. "The permissible limit of nitrates per litre of water is 45 milligram. But in the underground water in Nayandahalli, the nitrate level is 554 milligrams per liter, which is very high. It can cause various health hazards," said M V Shashirekha, water researcher and former official of the mines and geology department. Pic: Sankar C G There is a further shortage of safe drinking water due to delay in the completion of the Cauvery Fourth Stage Second Phase…

No Cauvery here: In the backdrop is the Army Welfare Housing Organisation's towering 1000-plus flat community under construction, opposite Chaithanya Samarpan, off the Whitefield Hoskote Road. Samarpan's security entrance is in foreground. Both communities don't have BWSSB connections and rely tanker and borewell water currently. Pic: Subramaniam Vincent. Some of the residential and commercial complexes in the peripheral Whitefield area of Bengaluru are likely to see better times. They will get water supply once the second phase of Hoodi reservoir is completed, probably by August or September this year, an official with BWSSB has said. Rapid growth, no water Two…

BWSSB is carrying out work of laying sewage pipelines near the Wipro junction in Koramangala, 1st block. The beginning of 1st main road, Koramangala, near the Wipro junction has been dug up for this. The entry to this road is blocked. This road will be blocked for a week from now."It takes time as a lot of other civic amenity lines are in the way," says the Assistant Engineer, BWSSB, who is in charge of the work.           Earthmovers at work. Pic: Deepthi M S More work is planned to take place in and around the Wipro Junction, which may…

Residents of 8th phase JP Nagar still have no respite from the deep trenches dug by the BWSSB to lay water pipelines. Kapil Raizada, a resident of nearby H M World City had earlier written to Citizen Matters on this issue and the piece was published in the 9th April issue of Citizen Matters. The residents had a harrowing summer due to the dust kicked up due to the digging. The monsoon has added another kind of woe as the mud roads have turned slushy and with trenches dug up on the sides, they have become a hazard to commuters…

Citizen Action Forum, a federation of RWAs met S Suresh Kumar, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and BWSSB and P S Ramamurthy, Chairman, BWSSB along with team of chief engineers.The meeting held in BWSSB central office Cauvery Bhavan, and we discussed rain water harvesting (RWH) and water supply problems.CAF President N S Mukunda explained practical solutions to water problems. RWH in houses can yield only 2% of water requirement of Bangalore. So RWH should be done in all public (government buildings and 1400 parks in Bangalore. He requested the government not to make RWH mandatory for all, because some…

I am a resident of BEML Layout, Rajarajeshwari nagar, 7th cross, 9th main, 3rd stage . BWSSB laid the new drainage pipes two months ago. But no on has bothered to bring the road back to normalcy. The drain pipes are just closed with loose soil and even extra soil present on the road is not removed. Vehicles plying on the road get stuck in the loose mud often. Elderly and children find it difficult to walk and have often had falls. When it rains, the road is all slushy. Pic: Anand R 9th main looks like a dirt track.…

In the Cauvery Phase II, stage IV project, 500 MLD (million litres per day) will be supplied to the entire city. This will be divided among ten reservoirs, which will supply water to areas surrounding them. The project is expected to be complete in March 2012. Reservoir construction work is in progress and about 50% of pipeline work is complete, say BWSSB officials. Reservoirs are being built in GKVK campus in Vidyaranyapura (which will be allocated 151 MLD), Hegenahalli reservoir near Peenya (98 MLD), Jambu Savari Gudda in JP Nagar (27 MLD), Central Jail in Bilekahalli ward (43 MLD), Hoodi,…