Biweekly water supply promised in 'intermittent' wards in Hubballi-Dharwad by March-end

Corporators blame KUIDFC, L&T for delay in supply

Hubballi: More than 55% of 1.85 lakh drinking water house connections in the twin cities of Hubballi-Dharwad get water once in five to seven days even today, and this gets further delayed on some occasions. At this juncture, a commitment has come from the authorities to provide water once in three days in the 46 wards that have intermittent supply by March-end.

Days after the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) authorities said the water supply frequency would be improved by February-end or March first week, officials of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure and Finance Department (KUIDFC), which is the nodal agency for the 24X7 water supply project being implemented by the L&T, on Tuesday expressed a commitment before the general body of the HDMC to ensure once-in-three-days water supply by March-end, stating that the works to bring additional 43 MLD (million litres per day) bulk water from the Malaprabha reservoir are in the final stage.

At present, 23,630 connections in 11 wards are getting water round-the-clock, 47,222 connections, mainly in 25 wards, have daily water supply, while this frequency is once in three days for 5,532 connections, four days for 6,622 connections, and five to seven days for 1.02 lakh connections (in 46 intermittent wards), according to KUIDFC officials, who also admit that the supply sometimes gets delayed further in case of pipeline damage or power supply disruption. The deadline to complete the project to expand 24X7 water supply to all wards is extended till June 2027.

In a special general body meeting of the HDMC on Tuesday, which was convened to discuss the water supply issues, KUIDFC Superintending Engineer Savita Katigennavar stated that the water supply frequency would be once in three or four days by March-end, when 43 MLD additional water would be available.

The twin cities now get 220 MLD of water from the Malaprabha reservoir and 22 MLD from the Neersagar reservoir, when the total demand is 245 MLD, including 165 MLD for Hubballi and 80 MLD for Dharwad.

The meeting was informed that 29.7 km raw water transmission main (RWTM) from Savadatti to Amminabhavi has been laid, and only a 14-metre stretch is remaining in 17.9 km clear water transmission main (CWTM) from Amminabhavi to Rayapur. The new water treatment plant at Amminabhavi is 78% complete, while several tanks are also ready, officials said.

"24X7 water supply is started in two new areas, while trial run is on in 12 areas. Proper road restoration is being done in these areas, while temporary restoration is being done in other areas where the works are still going on," Savita added.  

Corporators angry

Throughout the meeting, corporators cutting across the party lines expressed ire against the L&T and KUIDFC for the delay in water supply and contamination at some areas.

When Iqbal Navalur and Nazir Ahmed Honnyal lamented that some areas in Old Hubballi are getting contaminated water due to old pipelines, Mayor Jyothi Patil instructed the officials to get the permission required to cut the national highway and lay the new pipeline fast.

Leader of the House in the HDMC council Iresh Anchatgeri charged that the data to show the progress in project implementation was not true, and biweekly water supply frequency was there before the project implementation began.

Leader of the Opposition in the HDMC council Imran Yaligar said a protest would be staged if the water supply frequency is not improved by March-end.

Former mayor Veeranna Savadi raised objection for the absence of the KUIDFC chief engineer in the meeting, while BJP corporators demanded postponement of the meeting for this reason.

HDMC Commissioner Rudresh Ghali stated that 300 km of pipeline laid had failed in hydrotesting, out of which 120 km has already been replaced.