Water Treatment

BWSSB to focus on recycling water

Friday, 31 May 2013 09:43 administrator

The New Indian Express 31.05.2013

Bangalore Urban District in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Thursday said Cauvery water is not enough to meet the demand for water in the city.

At a workshop on ‘Developing Capabilities for New Sustainable Sources of Water through Reuse in Bangalore’ organised here by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Ramalinga Reddy said, “There is an urgent need to supplement Cauvery water supply through rejuvenation of lakes, rain water harvesting and reuse of waste water.”

Reddy also said the city faced acute water scarcity this year. Though BWSSB is making efforts to supply Cauvery water to the newly-added areas of the city, the problem may aggravate.

Therefore, there is a need to use treated water as an alternative source and the government will support all endeavours in this direction, he said.

Chairman of BWSSB, Gaurav Gupta, explained about the board’s efforts in making recycling and reuse of water a reality in Bangalore and said: “Singapore is the pioneer in the field of recycling and reuse of water and the BWSSB has entered into an MoU with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise and TEMASK Foundation to explore the possibility of using treated water as an alternative source to meet the increasing demand for water.”

Gupta also said BWSSB and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise have organised five joint workshops in pursuance of the MoU and this is the concluding workshop. These workshops were aimed at training the BWSSB in capacity-building and public outreach.

As the supply from Thippagondanahalli reservoir has reduced from its capacity of 135 MLD to hardly 35 MLD, Bangalore is totally dependent on Cauvery for all its needs.

Drive to clean drains

Friday, 31 May 2013 05:20 administrator

The Hindu 31.05.2013

Drive to clean drains

Staff Correspondent

Hubli-Dharwad West MLA Arvind Bellad has roped in councillors in his Assembly constituency to launch a drive to clean drains ahead of the onset of monsoon.

The councillors, in association with the officials of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, students and members of voluntary organisations will launch the drive from 7 a.m. on Saturday, a press release said.

Tough time

Mr. Bellad said people in low-lying areas had a tough time in the last three days as water gushed into their locality after heavy rain. “If the garbage is removed from drain, the water flow would be smooth,” Mr. Bellad said.

He said fogging would be taken up after removing garbage from drains.

A shot at a clear water solution

Thursday, 30 May 2013 05:48 administrator

The Hindu 30.05.2013

A shot at a clear water solution

A visitor covers his nose, unable to bear the stench emanating from Hussainsagar lake

The GHMC, which has taken up a programme for the preservation of 128 lakes within its boundaries, has decided to take up an initiative to clean up at least 60 of these in the first phase, according to GHMC Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu.

A private consultant, Aarvee Associates, has been appointed to make detailed project reports for taking up the clean-up programme, and once the reports come, it will be posed to the Central Government for seeking funds under the National Lakes Conservation Plan (NLCP).

The expectation from the civic body is that the Centre under the NLCP will allot nearly Rs. 200 crore in the first phase and work will be completed in five years. The Municipal Corporation has already initiated steps to put up chain link fences for all the identified water bodies, and the work is to be taken up in 64 of them as the full tank levels (FTL) have been demarcated by the Irrigation Department. In the first phase, the chain link fence will be constructed around 13 lakes located in various parts of the capital at a cost of Rs. 4.3 crore. The lakes chosen for fencing, includes Pedda Cheruvu at Gangaram in Serlingampally, Khaidamma Kunta at Hafeezpet, Erla Cheruvu at Madeenaguda, Nallagandla lake at Nallagandla, Sunnam Cheruvu under Kukatpally circle, Ranganayaka Cheruvu and Malkam Cheruvu at Raidurga under the Kukatpally circle.

He also pointed out that the HMDA had put up around 176 lakes for adoption by corporate bodies for a three-year period as part of their corporate social responsibility. A couple of months ago, the Commissioner had also held a meeting with the Ranga Reddy Collector when quite a few significant decisions were made. The Deputy Commissioners and Tahsildars of the respective areas have been made team leaders of both the departments for demarcating boundaries and fixing pillars.

VMC to desilt drains soon

Wednesday, 29 May 2013 05:24 administrator

The Hindu 29.05.2013

VMC to desilt drains soon

Staff Reporter

Mounting dues to contractors became a stumbling block for the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) to take up desilting of drains, an annual affair. The contractors have shied away from taking up the desilting works as the Corporation has not cleared their bills for last two years. The Corporation has to pay nearly Rs. 77 lakh to them.

The VMC, this year, has estimated that the desilting of drains would cost Rs. 40 lakh and invited tenders. The contractors, who have the machinery and equipment for desilt works, have not responded to the tenders. Instead, they demanded that the Corporation provide working capital if the works were to be taken. The officials promised that the VMC would clear a partial amount of the pending bills, and convinced them to file their tenders. The VMC will shortly clear about Rs. 20 lakh dues to them, sources say.

The tenders have been finalised, and work orders were issued. The desilting works are scheduled to be completed before June 15. As many as 10 major drains, including Guntatippa, Nuzvid Road drain, Nizam gate and outfall drains near Kabela, would be desilted, officials say.

Civic chief extends nullah desilting deadline by a week

Tuesday, 28 May 2013 12:23 administrator

The Times of India 28.05.2013

Civic chief extends nullah desilting deadline by a week

AURANGABAD: City civic commissioner Harshdeep Kamble on Monday extended the deadline for desilting nullahs at 60 locations in the city to June 7, and directed all the executive engineers in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to complete the work before the stipulated time.

A senior civic official said on the condition of anonymity that desilting work on many locations had recently begun. "About 50% work has been completed by the civic body. In the remaining days, we would be able to complete about 35% of the desilting work," he said, indicating that desilting of all the nullahs might not be possible before June 7.

In its drive, the civic body is planning to clear beds of all the nullhas in the city before the monsoon season. In the first phase, the AMC would remove silt before the rainy season, while in the second phase, it would carry out the work throughout the season. Earlier, the civic body had said that desilting of nullahs would be carried out in four months.

The tendering process for the work was initiated on May 6, said another official. "This year, we started inviting tenders well in advance, but there were no takers for desilting some of the nallahs. Moreover, the AMC's financial budget for the current year has not been not approved yet. However, realizing the importance of the work, we started working on the project with an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crore," he said.

The AMC has allotted the work of cleaning up patches of nullahs in different municipal wards to different agencies. Further, to keep a track of the desilting work, the AMC is also taking photographs of the ongoing process.

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