Residents of Peenya Industrial Town, led by their councillor K.L. Timmanajaiah on Friday, laid siege to the BWSSB office at TVS Cross in Dasarahalli, protesting against contamination of groundwater in their area.
Although BWSSB laid Cauvery water pipelines and installed meters after collecting the prescribed fee five years ago, the supply is yet to start in the area.
“Residents are totally dependent on borewell water. But with effluents from the industrial township seeping into groundwater, the borewell water is laced with chemicals and also smells horrible,” said Mr. Timmanajaiah.
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“As a result of this, several people in the area are suffering from skin disease and related ailments. Some of them have also got cancer of the skin. Despite raising the issue in the BBMP Council meetings several times, no action has been initiated to solve our water problems,” he said.
BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief T. Venkataraju, who accepted a memorandum from the protesters, said he would inspect the area on Saturday. “Most residents have not applied for connections in this area. Cauvery supply will begin as soon as the city gets additional 500 MLD through the second phase of Cauvery Stage IV,” he said.
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Meanwhile, residents of Cox Town and Doddigunte also staged a protest near Cox Town Circle demanding adequate supply to their area. “The supply is erratic and pressure is low in most houses,” N.S. Ravi, president of Cox Town Residents' Welfare Association, said. He alleged that most of the water meant to be supplied to the area was being diverted to residents of high-rise buildings and apartment complexes. “Now the BWSSB is laying a new pipeline in the area and we are afraid this will further create problems for us,” he said.