Bengaluru has water shortage of over 500 million litres per day: Karnataka Chief Minister
Bengaluru: The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said that Bengaluru is currently facing a shortage of nearly 500 million liters of water per day against the requirement of 2,600 million liters.
The CM on Monday held a high-level meeting on the drinking water crisis in the state, and especially Bengaluru, at the Vidhana Soudha, and said that they had enough water stored in the Cauvery and Kabini to last till the end of June.
Out of 14,000 government bore wells, 6.900 are dry, and hence, the problem had occurred, he said.
The Chief Minister also said that out of 110 villages newly added to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, 55 villages have problems, and 775 MLD of additional water to these areas will be available after the completion of Cauvery Phase 5 work by the end of June.
He also said that they are drilling new bore wells at 313 places and 1,200 inactive bore wells will be revived.
“I have instructed all private tankers, including of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), for supplies to slums, upland areas, and bore well-dependent areas. It has been instructed to increase the number of control rooms and supply water to those areas as soon as complaints are received,” he said.
He said that the number of task forces will be increased to respond to complaints immediately, and instructions have been given not to use drinking water in parks and to use treated water instead.
Instructions have been given to fill the lakes of Bangalore like KC Valley, as well as 14 major lakes that have dried up, he said, adding that this will recharge the bore wells with groundwater.
It is worth mentioning here that the IT hub of India, Bengaluru has been grappling with an unprecedented water crisis for nearly a month now. Earlier, to put a check on the misuse of drinking water, the Karnataka Water Supply and Sewerage Board banned the usage of drinking water for car washing, gardening, construction, water fountains, and road construction and maintenance. The board has also imposed a fine of Rs 5000 if the order is violated.
(With IANS Inputs)
Ms Kalinga