110 villages to get Cauvery water well before time

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has fast-tracked the Cauvery Stage V project and is aiming to complete the work by the end of this year.

If achieved, the board would have completed the project six months before the deadline, providing water supply to the 110 villages earlier than expected.

“Looking at the pace, we are expecting to complete the project by December,” BWSSB chairperson N Jayaram said. “Considering that the project may get stalled for several days during the rainy season, I have instructed the engineers and contractors to plan the work accordingly. We are looking at taking up more work during the summer.”

BWSSB officials said they are aiming to finish the work on the ground by November and then conduct test runs for a month, to ensure the network is ready to be commissioned.

“As part of the project, three pump houses are being constructed at Thorekadanahalli (TK Halli), Harohalli, and Tataguni. Also, seven ground-level reservoirs are being built for water collection. The overall progress stands at 40%,” said a senior BWSSB engineer working on the project.

The project, once commissioned, will help the BWSSB bring 775 million litres per day (MLD) of additional water into the city, helping provide Cauvery water to the 110 villages in the city’s periphery.

While the Cauvery Stage V aims at getting the additional water into the city by laying trunk lines and setting up pump houses, the BWSSB has also simultaneously taken up work on laying water pipelines and underground sewage lines in the 110 villages to ensure that they get water connections as soon as the Cauvery Stage V is commissioned.

The task of laying 2,158 km of water lines has already been completed, but the board has wrapped up a mere 85% of work to lay the underground sewage lines.

“In a few villages, there are live gas lines and other utilities underground. Hence, we had to work slowly and cautiously at such places. However, we are confident of finishing all the pending works by the end of March,” a senior BWSSB official explained.

Details of Cauvery Stage V project:

No of pumphouses: 3

No of ground-level reservoirs: 7

Total pipeline: 170 km

Cost: Rs 5,500 crore

Work progress: 40%

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