“We have achieved it. Though it is a bit late, we have made it,” BWSSB Minister S. Suresh Kumar said after he launched the trial run of the new water supply project, the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage IV Phase II, at TK Halli on Friday morning. The BWSSB chose the eve of Sir M. Visvesvaraya’s birthday for lifting the raw water from Shiva Balancing Reservoir for the first time for this water supply scheme.
Mr Kumar announced that the project will be formally commissioned by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar in the first week of October and water will be supplied to Bengalureans soon after. This is only partial commissioning of the project. “For now, we will supply 200 to 300 MLD of water. Full commissioning of the project will happen by November,” Mr Kumar said. The team of BWSSB and their consultants gave the media a demonstration of how raw water is lifted from Rottikatte in Malavalli taluk and treated at TK Halli before being conveyed to Bengaluru.
The Rs 3384 crore project has a capacity to supply 500 MLD to Bengaluru. Once the project is fully commissioned, the total supply of water to the city will be 1450 MLD. The project is funded by JICA (85%), Government of India (7.5%) and BWSSB (7.5%). The minister used the occasion to appeal to the residents of the new BBMP areas that will benefit from the scheme - Rajarajeshwarinagar, Dasarahalli, Yelahanka, Bomannahalli, Byatarayanapura, KR Puram, Mahadevapura and Kengeri - to get authorised water connections and benefit from the project.
Mr Kumar said problems with land acquisition, the difficult terrain and shortage of labourers, sand and jelly, were some major issues the project had to tackle. Within Bengaluru city, right of way issues with other authorities and working on narrow roads in densely populated areas with existing utility lines were other challenges, he said.