Activists see privatisation move behind water summit

‘Outsourcing supply will see tariffs skyrocketing’

Bangalore: Day Two of the Bangalore World Water Summit saw a parallel summit being organised by Peoples Campaign for Right to Water, which sees a move to privatise water supply in the agenda of such meets.

Activists from a cross section of society - including those who have faced the brunt of private sector supply of potable water in Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga - shared their experiences.

Sharada Dabade, from Hubli, said how huge sums of public money were invested in a few chosen wards to deem privatisation of water a success.

“These demo wards are provided with eight to 10 hours of water supply everyday, while other areas under the same Corporation limits are left with barely an hour to collect water,” she said.

Nanjaraj Urs flayed the entire ‘showbiz’, explaining how the water supply operations had been outsourced to a private company in Mysore. “Since then, the water tariffs have increased by nearly 10 times,” he added.

To create awareness among the masses on the significance of water, the NGO had also invited religious leaders who said it was very unnatural for water to be considered a commodity. Maulana Usman Baig said there was a pressing need to intensify the struggle against privatisation of water supply. Protests were held against the water privatisation policy of the State.

Micro irrigation projects

Sathya Murthy, Principal Secretary to the Water Resources Department, said that the micro irrigation scheme implemented in Dharwad, covering 20,000 hectares, would improve the lives of farmers in the area.

These farmers, apart from being partners in the project, would serve as local managers for the State’s rural programmes.

“The services of the farmers will not go overlooked and Rs 20 crore is allocated to provide incentives for those who manage our programmes best,” he said.

Murthy said his department would soon implement river basin management planning in various parts of the State. He backed the Ettinahole project, saying it would greatly help people in Tumkur, Chitradurga, Kolar, Tumkur, Ramnagar and Bangalore Rural districts.

Day Two saw Palike and BWSSB officials attending different sessions by experts.

An assistant engineer in BBMP said: “There are many speakers with so much knowledge here. If just one of them actually works with BBMP or BWSSB, the city will see great changes.”

The afternoon sessions included discussions by noted environmentalist A N Yellappa Reddy, A R Shivakumar of the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology and a video message from R K Pachauri, Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Pachauri’s speech stressed the need to revamp the existing underground drainage system. “Indian cities continue to use old drainage infrastructure system. They do not suit our present day needs,” said Pachauri.

He said lack of incentives for recycling water in urban areas is not helping in the process of preserving water. Shivakumar supported Pachauri’s view and said rainwater continues to be neglected.

Experts and State government officials discussed water related issues with corporators, local legislators and Lok Sabha members on the occasion.