Karnataka - Bijapur   

Bijapur city goes without water for the sixth day

Staff Correspondent

Some localities may get water today

BIJAPUR: The city went without water for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday following the burst of main supply pipeline from the pumphouse on the left bank of Krishna at Kolhar, 50 km from here.

Heavy rush, rows of empty vessels and quarrels were common in front of a few available sources, especially public taps supplying water from borewells. Almost all localities have one such public tap but the output is nowhere near to match the requirement.

Generosity

What is being appreciated is the generosity shown by some of the individuals having their own sources of water. Unmindful of the electricity bill, they have been supplying water to public from their borewells. For

example, there is no public tap in Basavananagar locality and people would have been put to severe hardship but for the service rendered by J.N.

Joshi, a senior citizen of the lane. He has provided a permanent tap outside his compound wall for public. The main pipeline was burst near Honaganahalli Bridge 22 km from here on last Tuesday. However water supply continued for a day from the storage tank at Jalanagar here. The Karnataka Water Supply and Sewerage

Board (KWSSB) responsible for water supply from Kolhar pumphouse to Jalanagar storage tank, had promised that repairs would be completed within three days but work dragged on for almost six days. Board officials attributed the delay to an additional work of installing a zero-velocity valve needed to minimise water pressure that occurs whenever pumping stops owing to power failure and other technical reasons. It was installed near Karjol Cross, 30 km from here. However, sources in the municipality refuse to accept this as the sole reason.

Experts including welders were called from Hubli. There was some delay in making available raw material including steel pipe. Municipal Commissioner Sonne Gowda has announced that water supply would resume from Wednesday. Pumping of water began at Kolhar pumphouse on Tuesday and at least 14 hours are needed for it to reach Bijapur.

According to sources in the water supply wing, only six to seven localities will get water on Wednesday, and the remaining ones will get water on rotation in the coming days. It may take at least a week to supply water to all localities, they added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bijapur city goes without water for the sixth day
Valuables stolen from businessman's house

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu