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Water Supply

No plans to increase tariff: water board

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The Hindu 12.01.2010

No plans to increase tariff: water board

Special correspondent

There is plenty of scope to improve the finances, says the HMWSSB Managing Director

 


Board’s finances up since last couple of months

Lot of revenue leakage in our own system: MD


Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Water Supply and Sewerage Board has no plans to increase the water charges right away.

As far as possible it wants to spare the hike as it feels there is plenty of scope to improve the finances.

During the last couple of months the Board’s finances have started looking up and if the system is streamlined properly there may not be any need to jack up the charges, it is said.

“There is no point in increasing the tariff when there is lot of revenue leakage in our own system. We are expecting to raise the present demand and plug the leakage by March,” said Hyderabd Metropolital Water Supply and Sewerge Board’s Managing Director M.T. Krishna Babu.

Human element

To start with it is proposed to do away with the human element in recording of meter reading. Some meter readers are working to the detriment of the Board by pocketing money in connivance with the house owners and reporting that the premises are locked or the meter is not working. If auto meters are installed this tendency to play mischief can be taken care of, it is said.

Auto meters

The Board has already installed auto meter readers with GPRS technology for 149 bulk consumers. But this Israeli technology is very expensive. The other alternative is to go for the Radio Frequency Device. But here again one has to carry the device within 100 meters of the connections to record the reading.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which handles water supply in Mumbai, has already experimented with both these technologies for 15,000 connections. And now it has introduced the RFD technology for 3 lakh connections. Senior officials of the Board, including its MD, have decided to study the technologies. They will be leaving for Mumbai this month end.

The Board will study the technologies and adopt whichever is cost effective for consumers with three-fourth and half inch connections in division VI.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 02:18
 

Hi-tech meters for bulk water users

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The New Indian Express 11.01.2010

Hi-tech meters for bulk water users


HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) proposes to fix either Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or GSM-based technology for bulk water meters having 3/4 inch connections on a pilot basis in Division VI from next month.

Division VI covers posh areas of Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar, Vengal Rao Nagar, Ameerpet, Punjagutta and Somajiguda.

A team led by HMWS&SB Managing Director MT Krishna Babu and senior Water Board officials will visit Mumbai shortly to study the technologies, already being used there and said to be giving positive results. About 3 lakh

RFID metres were fixed under the JNNURM in Mumbai. Speaking to Expresso, Krishna Babu said after studying the technologies a suitable one for Greater Hyderabad will be implemented.

Though GSM technology is said to be superior to RFID, it is very expensive. Each GSM water meter costs about Rs 35,000 whereas RFID one comes for Rs 20,000. The new meters will be fixed for 20,000 connections in the first phase and extended to another 20,000 connections in the second phase.

RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify objects and help in meter reading. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna. The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification

information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers.

Last Updated on Monday, 11 January 2010 10:44
 

Water is just a trickle here

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Deccan Herald 11.01.2010

Vasanthapura has been consistently neglected by legislators
Water is just a trickle here
G Manjusainath

River Cauvery is close yet too far to quench the thirst of the residents of Vasanthapura ward.
 


The ward is among the seven in Bangalore South constituency, which is struggling for basic civic amenities.

There is a dearth of well-developed public space in Vasanthapura ward. The Cauvery second stage pipeline runs through this ward but its benefit has not reached the residents of Vasanthapura atop the hill.

The reason is simple - the houses there are on revenue land and government is not obliged to give Cauvery water connection to the illegal houses. Interestingly, the slums grew up right under the nose of the government in Vasanthapura and surrounding areas and the government turned a blind eye towards the growth of illegal settlement.

The residents of Vasanthapura slums atop a hillock get water thrice in a month that too for a brief period. A resident of Vasanthapura slum, Rajesh says the water scarcity is so grave that people leave home for their work with clothes so that they can take bath elsewhere. Those who fall sick have no other choice but remain without bath for days or weeks together.

“We get water once in ten days. The scene resembles a battle field the day water is released as everyone rushes to catch the thin flow water.,” said Nagaraj, a boy residing in Vasanthapura slums.

A Kalyani (a tank) of the Vasantha Vallabharaya Temple was a beautiful place where people used to take bath till fifteen years ago but not any more. Now the Kalyani is a breeding place of mosquitoes as no one took the pain to clean it.

The Vasantha Vallabharaya Temple and the Sai Baba temple adjacent to it have a great number of devotees visiting them and get huge amounts as donation but the two temple managements have not thought of rejenuvating the Kalyani.

The Bangalore South MLA M Krishnappa says, “The ruling BJP government has allocated a good amount for the development of the city. We are giving Cauvery line at Uttarahalli now and would soon turn to sort out civic woes in other BBMP wards of Bangalore South constituency. Our priorities are people. We will not ditch them,” said Krishnappa.

Other wards

Uttarahalli - 184
The ward is on the
development path many public works taking place.

Concrete roads are laid, street lights are in place and water connection is given to every household in this old settlement. The Shettarakere Lake is full of weeds while no effort has been made to clean it.

Yelchenahalli - 185

The area is on the road to development with tarring of roads and construction of storm water drains under progress. Garbage menace is comparatively well under control.

Begur - 192

Plagued mainly by the dust, dirt and filth. Development is gaining pace here.

Gottigere - 194

Gottigere Lake needs attention. The old settlement is also crying for developmental
activities.

Konankunte - 195

The ward is one of the dirtiest areas of the city mainly because of heavy vehicular movement and developmental activities. No system in place for garbage disposal here.

Anjanapura - 196

Anjanapura Layout is under-developed in absence of a proper approach road and its
distance from the city.

 


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