The Hindu 02.11.2009
Residents of new areas in city cry for water
Afshan Yasmeen
| ‘Service possible only after completion of Cauvery project’ |
Five years on, residents still depend on private water suppliers
Some residents have paid an excess of Rs. 5,000 for water connection
Bangalore: R. Venkataraman, a resident of Pai Layout, paid a fee of Rs. 10,000 to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in July 2004 for a Cauvery water connection.
However, even now his family is dependent on tanker and borewell water.
His neighbours S. Ranganathan and S. Narayanan also paid the same amount to the water board in the same year with the hope that they will get Cauvery water connections.
Others, including P.R. Krishnamoorthy, a resident of Kuvempunagar in Ramamurthynagar, paid the fee in January 2007 along with a penalty of Rs. 1,800 for delay as the deadline to remit the fee was July 31, 2005.
However, Cauvery water supply is still a dream for them.
That is not all. These people have paid an excess of Rs. 5,000 as the stipulated beneficiary contribution of Rs. 10,000 was reduced by half following public outcry that the fee was exorbitant.
Now, with the BWSSB making it clear that it would not be possible to supply Cauvery water to the new areas before 2011, these residents are helpless.
Excess amount
“We have not only paid the beneficiary contribution within the deadline but have also paid in excess. We are also shelling out nearly Rs. 1,000 a month on buying tanker water.
“The water board officials said the excess amount of Rs. 5,000 would be adjusted towards our monthly water bills.
“But with supply to start only post-2011, we wonder when we would get back our amount. I am aged 70 now,” Mr. Venkataraman said.
Unfair
Terming the concept of collecting beneficiary contribution as unfair by BWSSB, Mr. Narayanan said: “Even after five years of paying for connections, we are still waiting for water.
“The water board is neither paying any interest to the residents on the excess amount nor is it interested in refunding the amount.”
Of the eight lakh property in the new areas, owners of nearly two lakh property have paid the beneficiary contribution.
The others have now resolved not to pay till the service begins.
“It is ridiculous that the water board forced us to not only pay the beneficiary contribution but also collected Rs. 100 a month as penalty depending on the size of the sites from those who paid after the deadline. All this for a service that has not been provided even after five years,” said A.V. Shama Rao, president of the Ramamurthynagar Residents’ Welfare Association.
BWSSB helpless too
Water board officials, who are aware of the problem, said they were helpless as water supply to the new areas could be possible only after the completion of the Cauvery IV Stage II Phase.
“That will enable us to augment an additional 500 million litres per day (mld). The existing 960 mld that we are drawing from all sources is not enough to meet the needs of the core areas itself.
“However, we have strengthened the borewell water supply in the new areas,” BWSSB Chief Engineer (Maintenance) T. Venkataraju said.
