The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Residents forced to lose sleep to collect drinking water

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Monday, Jul 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Residents forced to lose sleep to collect drinking water

Afshan Yasmeen

Water supply during night is convenient to some, says BWSSB official

— FILE Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

PRECIOUS: For some there is no alternative.

Bangalore: Dolly Moorthy, a resident of HAL 2nd Stage, has to keep awake till midnight or sometimes even into the early hours to collect water for drinking and cooking purposes. Water supply to the houses located on the 8th Cross in HAL 2nd Stage was between midnight and 2 a.m. till recently.

Likewise, M.H. Shyla, a resident of H.V.R Layout in Prashanthnagar, has to wait beyond 11.30 p.m. to collect two pots of drinking water.

Though these families have sumps for water storage, they have to wait to collect at least the minimum quantity of water required for drinking and cooking purposes. “As we do not have a water purifier, we cannot use the tank water for drinking. I have to stay awake to collect at least two pots,” Shyla said. “There are no fixed timings for the supply every day. Though the valve is opened at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., the water flow in our kitchen starts only after 11 p.m. because of low pressure,” Niranjan Ram, a resident of Ashoknagar in Richmond Town, said.

These are just a few examples of how citizens of the IT (information technology) capital are put to hardship because of water supply at odd hours. Realising the inconvenience caused to citizens because of the night supply and also to check wastage and leakage of water, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had announced an action plan in September 2006 to supply water during daytime in all areas of the city. The then Chairman N.C. Muniyappa had said he was aware of the inconvenience caused to citizens because of supply at night. But the plan was shelved after officials found that it was not feasible.

“Total day supply is technically not advisable,” official sources said.

Fixed cycle

BWSSB Chief Engineer (Maintenance) T. Venkataraju explained that the water supply of 810 million litres per day had to be divided in a fixed cycle of three to four hours among different areas.

“We had implemented the plan to some extent. Then we got several complaints, especially from families who are out on work the whole day. We found that the night supply is convenient to some people,” he said.

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