No Water For New Apartments And Offices In Bangalore
The government says new apartments and complexes won’t get water connections till the Cauvery Stage Four supply project is completed by the end of 2011. Katta Subramanya Naidu, Minister for Bangalore Water Supply Board, said, “We’re not in a position to supply water to complexes and multi-storeyed buildings till 2011, November, December. We’re not in a position to give connections to new buildings.”
The BBMP will not sanction fresh water connections to multi-storeyed residential and commercial apartments within its limits till 2011 end. The reason they have come up with is severe water scarcity. All applications seeking fresh water connections for multi-storeyed apartment complex after May 2010 will be kept pending.
In the absence of BWSSB supply, people occupying new flats and commercial complexes will have to depend on either private tanker supply or borewells or packaged water.From 2012, we will start sanctioning fresh connections. However, the BWSSB will continue to sanction new connections to single unit residential building in its limits.
The Cauvery makes up almost 80% of the city’s water supply. This is 900 million liters daily (MLD) of all the water supplied to Bangalore through the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). The total consumers of the BWSSB were 2.90 lakh in 2002. Today, it is 6.10 lakh. Hence, there is severe scarcity of water.
Irshad Ahmed, Secretary, Bangalore Realtors’ Association, says, “How can we say the building is ready but we cannot give you the amenities. The basic is electricity and water. If that is not given, the buildings will be ghost-towns.”
Many apartments already depend on borewells and tankers as the city water board only supplies water twice a week. Very soon you may see apartment-owners in elite areas lining up for water tankers too. Builders say it’s the government’s short-sightedness that’s led to this crisis. The government always seems to be planning 10 years behind schedule for a city that’s growing so fast and so far. If only this water problem had been foreseen five years back, the water supply project could’ve been sped up, and construction could’ve been restricted.
The people occupying new flats and commercial complexes will have to depend on either private tanker supply, borewells, Rainwater Harvesting or packaged water. However, the BWSSB will continue to sanction new connections to single unit residential building in its limits.
Source: ibnlive.in.com
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