Karnataka: People not sure of getting Cauvery water

Even as Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is making all preparations to supply Cauvery water to the parched areas of erstwhile City Municipal and Town Municipal Council (CMC/ TMCs) areas from November 1 through Cauvery IV Stage II Phase scheme, only a small number of residents have opted for new connections.

 In July, BWSSB Chairman Gaurav Gupta had directed the officials to increase the number of water connections in the erstwhile CMC/TMC areas of Byatarayanapura, Bommanahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, K R Puram and Kengeri by 2.2 lakh by December.

 However, till date, the total number of new connections given has not even crossed the 50,000 mark.

Ten sub-divisions of the BWSSB, which fall on the peripheral areas, were asked to add at least 1,000 new connections every week. They are hardly adding 100 new connections per day.

 Reason - the BWSSB’s failure to keep up its promises made so far.

 Meanwhile, many residents said that they did not seek new connections as they are not sure of getting Cauvery water soon.

 M Shivaji Rao, a resident of Ramurthynagar, said, “BWSSB launched Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project to supply water to peripheral areas in 2005. We have been given false promises about the commissioning of the project since then.”

“Many people are waiting for the water to come here so that they can apply and get new connections,” he added.

 Arumugam B N, President of Sir M V Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association, said “We are at the mercy of plumbers. Earlier, plumbers used to charge Rs 100 per application to put their signature and seal on the application. And now they are demanding Rs 500. Why can’t the board fix a uniform fee to be paid to plumber?”

‘Cannot Fix A Standard Fee’

When contacted, BWSSB’s Engineer-in-chief T Venkataraju admitted that many people are not sure of receiving water from the new project.

 “We are creating awareness through camps and media. Many people have free borewell connection and they have not felt the need to get Cauvery water. We will disconnect the borewell connections to increase our new connections”, he said.

 Commenting on the exploitation by plumbers, Venkatraju said that as there are many components involved, they ‘cannot fix a standard labour fee’