Water waste adds to scarcity crisis

Overflowing misery

Hundreds of litres of precious water flowed down Brigade Road after a rusted Cauvery pipeline breached at the Kamaraj Road-Cubbon Road intersection near the Manekshaw Parade Ground on Sunday afternoon. Water gushed out in a thick stream, flowing down a part of M G Road before cascading down Brigade Road.

Civic officials said a portion of the newly  laid asphalt on M G Road and slabs on the pavement caved in because of the onrushing water which mixed with the storm water drain. The parade ground under ankle-deep water. Brigade Road residents as well as shop owners tried contacting the BWSSB to complain of not just the nuisance that the onrushing water caused but the utter waste when large parts of Bangalore and its surrounding areas are starved for water.

When all appeared to be lost some store owners contacted BBMP officials who in turn could get across the message to BWSSB officials. The pipeline breach, however, could not be rectified till Sunday evening. The BBMP officials attributed the leakage to rusting pipelines.

The BWSSB officials are yet to quantify the amount of water that was lost as a result of the pipeline break and the consequent over-flowing. Some suggested that hundreds, if not thousands, of litres had virtually gone down the drain. Officials agreed that the loss, in drinking water, terms would be felt in the next few days.

Pedestrians and those out shopping on Brigade Road had a harrowing time negotiating a street where ankle-deep water rushed along both the pavements before gathering in a huge pool at the Residency Road intersection.

When BWSSB engineers and workers finally tackled the breach, it was already too later. Till the time of going to the press, it was reported that the BWSSB officials had not been able to repair the pipeline break. Though no BWSSB official was available for comments, an engineer said it could take several more hours to stop the leakage. They say that parts of Shanthinagar ward may not get water on Monday.