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Water Supply

1,850 valvemen to regulate water supply

Tuesday, 25 May 2010 06:07 administrator
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The Hindu      25.05.2010

1,850 valvemen to regulate water supply

Special Correspondent

Services will be outsourced, says Minister

New Assembly seats to get 150 valvemen each

BANGALORE: Transport Minister R. Ashok on Monday said that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike would outsource regulation of water supply from different sources, including borewells, to 1,850 valvemen in the city .

Speaking to presspersons, he said that each of the 15 new Assembly constituencies would get 150 valve men, while the old constituencies would get 50 each for solving the drinking water shortage in four months. He said that a task forces led by the local MLA were likely to be formed for the purpose.

Mr. Ashok, also in charge of Bangalore North, said that he and IT and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu had recently discussed the issue of water shortage with the legislators. They had requested for digging more borewells.

On the sale of water through tankers in the city, Mr. Ashok said that the Government was of the opinion that they should not be allowed to draw water here to help prevent draining of government borewells and supply. They would be free to bring water from villages and sell it locally, he said.

The Government, he said, would ask the board officials to ban supply of water by private people, if water scarcity persisted.

The Minister said that it had been decided to sell 7.5 acres of land belonging to Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation at Kempe Gowda Bus Stand land in Majestic area to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited for Rs. 161.56 crore to help develop Metro rail and other civic facilities.

He said that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation would introduce six multi-axle Volvo buses on long routes. More would be run after studying their performance. These would have 20 seats more. Commuters in Mangalore had appreciated Volvo bus services. These buses fetched a revenue of Rs. 5 lakh every month and more such buses would be pressed into services after completing certain procedures.

The KSRTC, he said, had made a profit of Rs. 49 crore, Rs.3 crore less as compared to Rs. 52 crore last year. He explained that the recession and Telengana strike were the cause for this.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 May 2010 06:08
 

Water gets dearer

Monday, 24 May 2010 11:33 administrator
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Indian Express    24.05.2010

Water gets dearer

Sharvari Patwa Tags : water Posted: Mon May 24 2010, 04:22 hrs

Water

 Mumbai:  As the city reels under water crisis, private water tankers are thriving. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation supplies 2,950 million litres daily, falling short of demand by over 1,000 mld. This leaves housing societies, construction sites, hospitals and hotels with no option other than buying water.

Some housing societies need to use at least two tankers a day, says Parminder Singh, president of Water Tanker Suppliers’ Association. “Every house in our building has to spend Rs 100 a day to buy drinking water. This is besides the amount we pay for water tankers for other uses,” says a resident of Goregaon.

The water tanker business has grown this year, according to Singh. At present, there are more than 250 water tanker operators in the city who operate more than 1,000 tankers in Mumbai alone. The number reaches a whopping 1,350, if those in Thane and Panvel are included

A 10,000-litre tanker costs between Rs 600-700 for regular customers. For non-regular ones, the cost is between Rs 900-1000, said Singh. Usually a tanker does at least four-five rounds every day.

Some housing societies are going for borewells so as not to depend on tanker water, said Singh.

The Goregaon housing society has started selling its borewell water to tanker operators as it fetches the society good money, said a resident. An official said the city has around 7,000 borewells and 5,000 dugwells that have the potential to yield 600 million litres per day. This, however, is not enough for a city that uses 70 per cent of its water for non- potable purposes. Small hotels and tea stalls get their supply from ‘masak carriers’. Iqbal Mohammad is one such carrier. Masak is a leather bag made of camel skin. A Masak bag can hold upto 20 litres and Iqbal sells it for Rs 5. 

“Small tea stall owners or eateries buy water from me as they cannot afford tanker water,” says Iqbal Mohammad.

Even soldiers are reeling under the crisis. The Army camp in Kalina also depends on water tankers for its daily use, only that it is using its own tankers. Also, the soldiers do not have to pay any charge for the water as the BMC gives it to them for free, says a water tanker operator.

(Clockwise from top)
1. Tea stall owners and eatery owners near Mantralaya buy water in small quantities from private water tankers
2. A housing colony at Shivaji Nagar,Santacruz, buys water from a private tanker
3. A housing colony in the Goregaon Naikwadi area sells its borewell water.
4. Iqbal Mohammad carries water in masak in the Madanpura, Byculla area
5. Private water operators wait in queue to fill their tankers in Vakola

Last Updated on Tuesday, 25 May 2010 04:25
 

Water, water everywhere

Monday, 24 May 2010 07:24 administrator
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The New Indian Express     24.05.2010

Water, water everywhere

 

BANGALORE: Barely a week after the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board chairman PB Ramamurthy assured to minimise loss of water due to leakages in the city, thousands of litres of water spilled on the streets due to a cracked pipe on Cubbon Road. The BWSSB, recently dug up the road in the name of replacing pipes and left it in a pitiable condition.

People often hit Cubbon Road, one of the most peaceful and scenic roads in Bangalore, to avoid traffic jams on MG Road and Brigade Road and also to get to the northern part of the city. “We read about localities not receiving water for days but also witness such wastage of water," said Ashwin Suresh, a commuter.

Terming the wastage as ‘sinful’, he said that whoever was responsible for this should pay for the damage.

“I saw people tarring the roads a few days ago and was happy that finally they were doing us this favour of covering the roads that they dug up. But later we discovered that it had developed cracks and also caved in”, pitched in Guru. He said that for many days, bulldozers dug up the place and many large pipes were still left behind and this caused more inconvenience to pedestrians who could not walk on the footpath.

The BWSSB chairman had recently acknowledged water leakages in the BBMP Special Council Session and assured to contain them at the earliest.

Ramamurthy had said that the city lost nearly 300 mld (million litres a day) of water due to leakages and many projects by the water department and the government would be able to satiate Bangalore’s thirst after completing the second stage of the fourth phase of the Cauvery water project.

“It was a pleasure to drive here in the past. But the constant digging by the BWSSB for various replacement works has destroyed not only the looks but also the pleasure of driving on this stretch,” said Prassana.

“Though everyone knew that this was a parallel road to MG road, traffic was never a concern here,” he said, and added that the road was spotless as the army mostly maintained it.

“Road resurfacing is the work of the BBMP and it is possible that heavy vehicles must have gone over the relayed road before it was set properly,” said Prahalad Rao, PRO, BWSSB, adding that the concerned engineers would be contacted immediately. He also said that many times the police give them very little time to complete the job due to traffic and often the water board is rushed into finishing the job, and thus the work proves to be inefficient.

Last Updated on Monday, 24 May 2010 07:27
 
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