JOIN USBWSSB moves ahead with Cauvery fifth stage work
To meet the increasing demand for drinking water in the City, the BWSSB is taking forward the proposal to implement the ambitious fifth stage of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme.
The additional water will be drawn from Thorekadanahalli reservoir in Mandya district, which is over 100 km from here.
A senior BWSSB official told Deccan Herald that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) — that has been entrusted with the task of preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) — is expected to complete the work in 10 days.
The technical committee of the BWSSB will study the DPR and forward it to the State government for approval.
The project, which is expected to cost Rs 3,200 crore, is likely to be funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), if approved by the Central government.
It may take at least a year for the process to get over and more time would be needed to start the work of laying the pipeline, the official pointed out. As of now, about 1,350 million litres per day (mld) of the Cauvery water is pumped to the City from five pipelines under Cauvery I, II, III and IV stages and the City is still facing a shortage of at least 500 mld of water.
The DPR is being prepared for Stage V under which a 3.1-inch pipeline with a capacity to supply 775 mld of water will be installed. This will be the sixth line after the five laid under the existing four stages.
According to the proposal, 775 mld of raw Cauvery water will be treated at a new plant to be set up in Thorekadanahalli and pumped to Harohalli and Tataguni pumping stations before being supplied to the City. Water supply will be bifurcated to the West and East side, particularly the 110 villages that were added to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits in 2007.
Water to other areas
Water from Stage V will also be used to supplement the requirement of the other areas of the City, BWSSB chairman T M Vijay Bhaskar told Deccan Herald.
Meanwhile, the BWSSB, in separate letters to the State and Central governments, has sought a financial assistance of Rs 4,309 crore from JICA to create infrastructure for water supply and sewerage system in the 110 villages. The JICA is yet to give its nod for funding the project.