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Water Supply

Government likely to throw cold water on raising tariff for now

Tuesday, 14 December 2010 03:14 administrator
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The Hindu      14.12.2010

Government likely to throw cold water on raising tariff for now

Staff Reporter
Any revision in the power tariff necessitates a hike in water rates: BWSSB chief
— PHOTO: K. GOPINATHAN

NOT NOW:BWSSB Chairperson P.B. Ramamurthy said the board's previous proposal was sent back

Bangalore: Even as Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is pressing for a hike in water tariff, the State Government is unlikely to approve it at the moment.

Sources in the Urban Development Department told The Hindu on Monday that the Government was not keen on a hike in water charges right now. Confirming this, the new Minister for BWSSB, S. Suresh Kumar, who reviewed BWSSB's functioning here on Monday, said: “We will first explore various avenues to see if the board's revenue can be increased by checking water wastage and plugging leakages. While we are aware that the board is overburdened with escalating power charges, hiking water charges is not a priority now.”

BWSSB Chairperson P.B. Ramamurthy said the board's previous proposal to hike the tariff was sent back by the Government as it wanted some issues to be clarified.

Big power bill

“The Government has sought some clarifications on our proposal for various slabs and the subsidies. We are working on that and will again submit a new proposal to impress upon the Government that our charges need to be hiked soon. The previous hike in power charges has increased our power bills by nearly Rs. 20 crore,” he said. “Any revision in the power tariff badly affects the board and necessitates a hike in the water rates.”

Pointing out that the Minister had convened another meeting on December 20, Mr. Ramamurthy said that the board would again pursue the matter at the meeting.

Mr. Suresh Kumar said that he had asked the BWSSB officials to prepare a list of pending issues with the Government and other civic providers. “I have asked them to give us the list of issues with possible solutions and the efforts made so far to get the issues resolved,” he said.

Pointing out that he also asked the officials to list out the best practices that the board has been following in the last three years, the Minister said he wanted them to be open on emulating best practices followed elsewhere in the country.

 

Panel formed to find water for Bangalore

Monday, 13 December 2010 11:59 administrator
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The New Indian Express  13.12.2010

Panel formed to find water for Bangalore

BANGALORE: More than eight months after the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) requested the state government to find additional sources of drinking water to the city, the state government has formed a committee comprising 11 subject experts to explore various means to augment drinking water supply to the city.

The committee will have to find new sources of water to meet the drinking water needs of the city for the next 40 years.

Retired chairman of the BWSSB B N Thyagaraja will head the committee and the BWSSB Chief Engineer (Cauvery) will be its coordinator.

The other members of the committee are retired director of Mines and Geology Department R H Sahukar, retired chief engineer of the BWSSB K R Narayan Iyyangar, professor S Mohan Kumar of IISc Civil Engineering Department, technical expert of the BWSSB Dr D N Ravishankar, the engineer-inchief of the Water Resources Department and that of Hemavathy South, Tumkur, chief engineer of Water Resources Department and one nominated member each from the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the Urban Development Department.

Source drinking water

“Members of the committee are very knowledgeable and familiar with the city and sources of water around it,” said P B Ramamurthy, the chairman of BWSSB. “They will have to explore the practical aspects of exploiting those sources,” he said.

He said the committee would submit the complete the task assigned to them at the earliest.

With the completion of Cauvery IV Stage II Phase Drinking Water Project, all the sanctioned and available sources of water would have been exploited.

According to the water experts, the city will start facing water scarcity in another five years if alternative sources of drinking water is not explored at the earliest.

TASK CUT OUT

Explore and prepare a report on how to supply drinking water till 2050 To asses the growth of the city and increase in population in the next ten years and to prepare a report on how to augment water supply To organise meetings with all the departments concerned to collect data To visit places that have the potential to supply drinking water and to prepare estimates for exploiting such sources To analyse the financial and technical aspects of the projects that are supposed to be undertaken To suggest different means to effectively utilise rain water, conserve water, prevent leakage and utilise the available sources effectively 

Last Updated on Monday, 13 December 2010 12:02
 

8 fall ill after drinking flavoured milk in BMC school

Saturday, 11 December 2010 11:27 administrator
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Hindustan Times  11.12.2010

8 fall ill after drinking flavoured milk in BMC school

Eight students from Sainath Nagar Marg civic school in Ghatkopar fell ill after drinking flavoured milk supplied by the civic body on Friday. The students were taken to Rajawadi Hospital. “Eight children in the age group of 12 to 14 were brought to the hospital at noon. They were all complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting. They all are stable now,” said Dr Manohar Bhaskar, medical superintendent, Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, adding that the children are admitted in the special ward in the hospital.

In October, the civic body had then decided to stop supply of flavoured milk after 43 children from a BMC school in Malad had fallen ill. However, the scheme was restarted in the Ghatkopar school on Friday.

Justifying the scheme, mayor Shraddha Jadhav said the supply should not be stopped as many parents could not afford to provide even a cup of milk to their children. “We could decentralise the distribution system, if needed,” she said.

Rashtriya Mazdoor Madhyawarti Grahak Sangh supplies the flavoured milk to all civic schools in the city.

Last week, worms were found in the khichdi served to students as part of the mid-day meal programme.

In October, 43 students from two Malad-based civic schools had taken ill after consuming flavoured milk. After the incident, the supply of flavoured milk was stopped to all civic schools.

On December 19, 2007, 77 primary school students from the Marathi-medium Jagannath Shankerseth municipal school in Grant Road fell ill after drinking the milk.

Last Updated on Saturday, 11 December 2010 11:29
 
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