2 crore litres of drinking water down the drain

Whether it was a simple communication gap or a serious inability to follow instructions, BBMP Corporator for Ward 93 Katta Jagadish has caused the BWSSB a loss of Rs 25 lakh in just one night.

Three water pipes on Millers Road were damaged on Wednesday night leading to 20 million litres of drinking water going down the drain, leaving residents of the area baffled to see the streets flooded.


Water is supplied to Tannery Road, Vasanth Nagar, Frazer Town, HBR Layout and Pullakeshinagara Kshetra from High Grounds

Despite instructions by the BWSSB to the BBMP not to clear storm water drains during the night, Jagadish went ahead and issued orders to JCB operators to start clearing the same, ahead of the monsoon season.

"The area was flooded in the morning and we realised what had happened after seeing the pipes gushing water." Ayesha Saifulla, a resident said.

With the damage done, Jagadish switched off his phone and even his office failed to respond to calls. The BWSSB Minister Suresh Kumar stated that Jagadish should be penalized for the loss.

When contacted, Assistant Executive Officer, N Satish said, "There were clear instructions that the drains should not be cleared during the night and yet they went ahead.

A complaint will be filed against the person responsible and serious action will be taken."

Blame game
While the BWSSB has smoothly palmed the blame on the BBMP, Udayshankar, an RTI activist from the area revealed something shocking.

He said, "I had filed an RTI application to know why the area gets water only once in 15 days when the High Grounds supplies water 24/7.
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I learned that the High Grounds let out 3,60,00,000 litres of water (i.e 3.5 MLD), which reaches the Pillana Garden Service Station where it is misused and sold for weddings and to private hospitals instead of reaching homes."

He further added, "The RTI response reveals that they were generating Rs 15 lakh as revenue for the last 15 years from this area.
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But in the last year, revenue has gone up to Rs 26 lakh. And we don't even get water at home regularly. So how did they make Rs 10 lakh more in just 12 months?"

Locality affected
The damaged water pipes have left 5 lakh households in the city with no water and the shortage is bound to continue for another week till the lines are fixed. And with the heavy showers last evening, the process could be further delayed.

"We had invited the BWSSB chairman to our area on April 19, but have seen no improvement and continue to suffer a total lack of water supply," says Dharmegowda, a resident of Pullakeshinagara Kshetra.

While some households managed through the day by ordering private tankers, a majority of the houses couldn't enjoy that facility either. "When we called the private tankers, they refused to provide water in our area," said Ayesha.

While the blame game continues, it remains to be seen if those responsible for the deed, will indeed be penalized for the inconvenience caused to the residents, and how.