The Hindu 19.09.2013
BWSSB to HC: will provide tankers to areas with contaminated borewells
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on Wednesday told the Karnataka High Court that it would supply potable water through tankers in areas where borewell water was found to be unfit for consumption.
The BWSSB gave this information to a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.H. Waghela and Justice B.V. Nagarathna while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition initiated by the court based on newspaper reports on contaminated drinking water in many parts of the city.
Water in 169 borewells in 110 villages (that were now part of the BBMP) was found to be unsuitable for drinking following tests conducted by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) recently. As short-term arrangement, the BWSSB counsel said that water would be supplied using tankers with a 6000-litre capacity in these areas.
Chlorination
“We have 30 tankers and will supply water twice or thrice a day. In the meanwhile, we will undertake chlorination exercise in other borewells,” the counsel added.
The BWSSB also told the court that at least 10 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet of water, in addition to an existing 19 tmc ft of water, is required to supply drinking water from the Cauvery project to these areas and a detailed project report in this regard had been submitted to the State government. The court will hear the petition again on November 7.
