JOIN USFor the harassed citizens of the thirsty Bangalore, some good news. From the second week of July, the supply of Cauvery water to City is likely to go up by a third.
The much-awaited Cauvery IV stage II phase project by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is likely to be completed by June-end and partial commissioning of water supply will commence by the second week of July. BWSSB sources said the partial commissioning of the project will start delivering 300 MLD (million litres per day) out of 500 expected from the project.
The laying of pipelines will be completed by end of June. Two weeks may be required to clean the pipelines and by second of July water will be let into the pipes.
Sources said that pipelines had been laid over 166 km of 172-km stretch from Thorekadanahalli (TK Halli) to Bangalore City, leaving final six km to be laid, mainly in the City. There is also raw water canal measuring 1.3 km, which has to be laid from TK halli to HBR Layout.
Shortage of skilled labour
They said shortage of labour had delayed the construction of pump houses, placing the project behind schedule.
A senior BWSSB officer told Deccan Herald that the project employed nearly 4,500 workers, 60 per cent of whom are skilled, working at different locations.
Most of the labourers, from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and North Karnataka, preferred being located in the City rather than TK Halli where they have to work in forest areas.
The BWSSB is also facing a problem in laying pipeline using ‘trenchless technology’ (installation of infrastructure with minimal disruption to surface traffic, business and other activities) at the Bommnahalli junction as they have hit hard rock in the path of the pipeline, delaying the work further.
The Board has laid pipelines using ‘trenchless technology’ for nearly 500 metres for this project and nearly 24 metres is pending at present. Cauvery IV stage II phase is the last quota of water that can be drawn by Karnataka as per the Cauvery Water dispute tribunal. This project will add 500 mld to the City’s water supply, which will be mainly supplied to the parched areas of Bangalore.