In the wake of rampant water theft in the city, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has decided to make use of technology to check meter tampering.
The recent detection of water theft by a hotel in R.T. Nagar has only strengthened the BWSSB’s resolve. The board will soon take up a pilot project to install automatic meter readers (AMRs) that will emit radio frequency (RF) signals and record readings throughout the day.
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The Rs. 1.81-crore pilot project that was approved by the Water Board in a recent meeting will be taken up in the South-East division. BWSSB chairperson Anjum Parvez told The Hindu that 800 one-inch and above non-domestic connections will be fitted with AMRs that will have SIM cards to record readings.
The recordings will be transmitted to the BWSSB’s main server enabling officials to keep a track of how much water has been consumed on a daily basis by a consumer, Mr. Parvez said. “If the reading is too low or high or we find something suspicious, our officials will investigate. We want to ensure zero manipulation or tampering of water meters using the technology,” he said.
Although the BWSSB had proposed to take up a similar project in the past, it was shelved due to lack of uniform mobile connectivity.
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The BWSSB is also gearing up to reduce 46 per cent of water that literally goes down the drain from the city’s daily water supply of 1,350 million litres.