The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Protest against lack of water supply

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Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Protest against lack of water supply

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Residents of Bharathinagar protested in front of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Machalibetta service station on Tuesday against the lack of water supply to their area for the past 15 days. Holding empty plastic pots as symbolic of the water scarcity they have been facing, the protestors, mostly women, demanded that water supply be restored immediately. Mallika, one of the protestors, said that they had been facing problems since last year when the public tap in their area had been removed. “We have to walk far distances late in the night when they release water. How can we do that?” she asked. Deepa, another protestor, said that the BWSSB has been asking them to install meters to get regular water supply.

“But we live in rented houses. We keep changing houses. We cannot afford to spend Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 to install meters.” Baby, who has a meter installed in her house, however, said that even with meters, she had not received water for 15 days. Rajeev K.N., Assistant Executive Engineer, said that water supply had been affected because the area is at the “tail-end” of the Cauvery water supply system. “But water will be supplied by evening,” he said.

Protest held

The Karnataka Kolageri Nivasigala Hitharakshana Janti Kriya Samiti on Tuesday held a protest against the lack of safe sanitation and water supply in the slums of K.R. Puram. Hasan Mansur, convenor of the samiti, said that instances of people falling ill due to diarrhoea and gastroenteritis have been increasing in the slums of Byappanahalli, Viveknagar Andhra Colony, Koramangala and Padarayanapura.

Girl died

“We wanted to draw the attention of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the Government to this issue,” Prof. Mansur said.

A seven-year-old girl had died of suspected water contamination in the Nellurpuram slum in K.R. Puram last week.

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