BWSSB drive against illegal water connections in Bangalore
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Water pilferage by people who tap into the main supply lines has turned out to be a major headache for the BWSSB. According to a rough estimate, the city has a shortage of 300 MLD (million litres per day) of water. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (BWSSB) crackdown 5,000 illegal water connections in the city between June 1 and 15 has brought to light. The board, however, said it has no clue about the total number of pilferers in the city. According to source, nearly 34 per cent of water supplied to Bangalore goes unaccounted for because of this water theft.
Since the amendment to the BWSSB Act, this is the first drive against illegal water connections in Bangalore. “Though there are eight lakh properties in the core area of the city, there are only 5.5 lakh legal water connections. While a few source water from borewells or rely on rain harvesting, the rest of them pilfer water from the BWSSB pipelines. We have decided to go hammer and tongs against those who have illegal water connections,” said BWSSB chairman P B Ramamurthy.“However, the drive has brought us results,” said Ramamurthy, adding, “Of the 5,000 illegal users, 3,200 have come to us with a request to legalize their connections.”
According to the BWSSB (Amendment) Act 2009, water thieves are those who dishonestly obtain water supply through illegal connections or use tampered meters in any manner, resulting in non-recording or wrong recording of consumption of water.They are punishable with fine or imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years, or both. A majority of these illegal water guzzlers have adopted a simple modus operandi. They collude with the local plumbing contractors and source water from the BWSSB network.
After a hot summer that brought Bangalore to its knees, the BWSSB will begin a pilot project in 11 wards of the city to supply water 24/7. Currently, the board supplies water to Bangalore on alternate days, which is also erratic. The board said the new project will not increase the demand for water. “When you supply water 24/7, you save a lot of water, because people stop throwing the water stored in buckets and refilling them once they get fresh water,” said Ramamurthy.
This is the first drive against illegal water connections in Bangalore since the amendment to the BWSSB Act. But despite this drive, the board still has no clue about the total number of illegal connections in the city. “The idea is to regularize the illegal connections so that we can manage the available water better,” said Ramamurthy.
- Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror
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