Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has banned the use of drinking water for car washing, gardening, construction, fountains, road repairs, and maintenance.
Bengaluru right now is facing one of the most challenging water crises even before the peak of summer. As per BWSSB, the water supply situation is manageable in the main cities but is highly alarming in the city’s outer regions especially the tech hubs areas where there is no direct piped supply from the Cauvery River.
Understanding the alarming rate of the water supply crisis, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)has banned potable water usage for non-essential purposes.
On March 7th, BWSSB issued an order restricting the use of drinking water for other purposes like cleaning vehicles, gardening, fountains, construction of buildings and roads, and maintenance is strictly prohibited. Even malls and theaters are restricted to use water only for drinking purposes.
On finding guilty , BWSSB will issue a fine of Rs 5000 for first time offence. Repeated offence will only add an additional penalty of Rs 500 per day for the offenders.
BWSSB urged the residents of the concerned area to report any kind of violation of the rule set if noticed to the board’s call center(1916). Officers says that in response to the unlikely soaring temperatures and depleting groundwater levels in the Bengaluru for which Bengaluru issues a crucial Prohibitory Order under Sections 33 and 34 of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Act 1964. The notion of this action is to address the urgent need for water conservation in the city.
The statistics shows the demand and supply gap in the water supply issues:
The public feels responsible for this issue and urges their community to judiciously use the drinking water, emphasizing essential purposes which water has and what consequences have to face in this water shortage time, it said.
Palm Meadows Housing Society located in Whitefield has reportedly told its residents for the past four days they have not yet received water from the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and warned them against misuse.
In the notice the society complex of Palm Meadows said that if any resident does not control their water consumption by 20% there will be an penalty of Rs 5000 on them. It further said that separate security guards would be arranged for this sole purpose only to patrol the violations.
Kanakpura road The Prestige Falcon City Apartment Owners Association (PFCAOA) informed their residents that their overhead water tankers could dry out soon due to the disrupted water supply distribution. Many RWAs have also urged their resident members to take small initiatives to reduce consumptions and make sure that no water is wasted.
Bengaluru Government on Water tankers
Amidst the crisis, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Sivakumar warned that before the deadline 7th March, the water tanker owners in the state that the government would seize their water tankers if they do not register with the authorities.
3,500 water tankers in the Bengaluru city out of the total only 10% that is 219 tankers have registered with the authorities, The government will seize them if they don’t register before the given deadline, said the head office of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike(BBMP)addressing a press conference on Monday on the boiling issue of Bengaluru water crisis.
He adds that Water is not anyone’s individual property of any kind but is a ‘resource’ that belongs to the government. The government has the right to take control of water sources. The Bengaluru WATER supply and Sewerage Board officials have been instructed to be prepared to supply water from areas where groundwater is abundant. The BWSSB is using 210 tankers to supply water already. He also said that Election code of conduct will not come in the way of supplying water.
The private water tankers are charging anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 2000 per tanker. He said he would make sure and talk to authorities and association to fix a standard price and find the solution to this issue.
