Bengaluru: Even as officials maintain that water supply has not been affected, residents across the city say water supply has reduced considerably since the end of winter.
At HRBR and HBR layouts, supply has been erratic for a month now. “All along, we were getting BWSSB water for three days in a week, during which water would be released in the morning and evening. Now, it is only in the evening,” said a resident.
At Ramamoorthy Nagar, Venkata Ramana says as his house is uphill, water trickles in. The pressure is not enough to fill his tanks. “We have been managing by consciously keeping our water usage low,” he said.
At C.V. Raman Nagar, Nagaraju says water supply to smaller houses has nearly stopped over the past few weeks.
In south Bengaluru, towards Nayandanahalli, water is now being supplied once in two weeks, as compared to once a week. M. Krishna, the husband of councillor Savita, said 15 new borewells are being dug in the area to provide drinking water — primarily to slum-dwellers.
However, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) officials insist that water is being pumped to ‘normal’ limits. Currently, out of the 1,400 million litres a day capacity for supply, around 1,352 is being supplied, said Engineer-in-Chief Kemparamaiah.
“So far, we do not have problems getting water. In many areas, we are improving our network of pipelines. Because of this, water supply may be affected. But, in general, there is no problem in supplying water,” he said.
He added that in a few areas, the supply of water will be low. “A few areas may be seeing a shortfall as there is a spike in water consumption due to the days being warmer. This is an annual occurrence and stabilisation takes 15 to 20 days. We will be increasing supply by 10 MLD every week,” said Mr. Kemparamaiah.
Reservoir levels
Four reservoirs across Cauvery
KRS, Kabini, Hemavathy, Harangi
Total live storage: 14.76 TMC
City demand: (February to June) 9 TMC
Pumping capacity: 1,400 MLD
Current pumping: 1,352 MLD
Contingency plans
BWSSB borewells: 6,900 are operational
Identification of public and private borewells for emergency supply
City estimated to have nearly four lakh borewells
Tankers: 64, requisition from other government bodies
Contingency plans
With last year seeing one of the worst droughts in recent years, the BWSSB has started preparing contingency plans in the event that pre-monsoon showers fail to satiate the city’s thirst.
“We do not anticipate a problem till May. But, if inflows in reservoirs is low, we have to use other means to provide water. We will be writing to the Forest Department and other agencies to allow us to use their tankers. At the same time, we are servicing our borewells. We are preparing to dig 100 borewells if need be,” said Engineer-in-Chief Kemparamaiah.
Meanwhile, a campaign for judicious use of water has started with ads on billboards, radio and television.
