BWSSB connection? Not interested, say residents

There are many who think Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage (BWSSB) services are indispensable for living in the city. But people of 110 villages newly added to the BBMP beg to differ.

Citizens have spurned the BWSSB’s offer of bringing them under its ambit. Of the 35,000 families, only 6,000 in 29 villages have applied for connections till date.

The BWSSB has so far completed the underground drainage (UGD) work and the infrastructure is in place to provide water supply in about 29 villages.

BWSSB officials said they had notified about the provision of water supply to citizens and called for their applications. The notifications were sent to people in 7 out of 29 villages in August last year, 12 received notifications in November and 10 received in January this year.

But, hardly 6,000 people have showed interest in the BWSSB’s water connections, thanks to bureaucratic red-tape that accompanies any government service. And with villagers enjoying the luxury of free borewell water in some villages, there seems to be no incentive for residents to clamour for connections.

Losing trust

The civic body has already trust of the residents by failing to arrange water tankers on time. “If phoned today, the BWSSB water tankers reach our houses after two days. What is the point in attending to people’s crisis but not on time? We are totally dependent on private tankers for water, who are throwing hefty prices at us,” said Shashikala from Bommanahalli area.

Diwakar DV, a resident from Bellandur, said residents cannot rely on BWSSB tankers even though they are cheaper than private tankers because of irregular timings. “Many office-goers cannot depend on BWSSB tankers as they delay too much,” he said.

Kempararamiah, Engineer-in-Chief, BWSSB, admitted the problem with water tanker supply. “It has not come to our notice that the tankers are not reaching the respective houses in time. I will talk to our concerned engineers in charge of this and make sure the supply is proper and on time,” he said.

The BBMP said it would deploy 267 water tankers to serve villages without water supply. “We have issued a one week tender for the same. We will provide water wherever there is a need,” said Manjunath Prasad, BBMP commissioner.