Lakhs of Bengaluru residents are set for a dry Thursday. Across a string of residential neighbourhoods, taps will run empty from 6 am to 6 pm on July 16, a full 12 hours without any water. The reason is emergency maintenance being carried out at the Cauvery Water Supply Stage IV, Phase II, a shutdown announced by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
According to the board, the repair could not be put off. A leak had developed in the scour valve on the 2,700 mm diameter pipeline, and fixing it quickly became unavoidable. To eliminate that leakage, the board decided to take up emergency maintenance works at the Cauvery Water Supply Stage IV, Phase II.
When the supply stops and for how long
The work will start at 6 am and continue until 6 pm on Thursday, July 16. Through these 12 hours, water supply will be completely disrupted across several parts of the city. Residents have been advised to store enough water in advance so that the outage does not leave them stranded.
Areas that will be hit
The neighbourhoods likely to see the sharpest water cut include Nandini Layout, BHEL Layout, Sanjay Nagar, Manjunath Nagar, Kanakanagar, Amruthahalli, Jakkur, Adarsha Nagar, Kalyan Nagar, Nagarbhavi, Hoysala Nagar, Vinayaka Layout and Mysore Road. Localities surrounding these areas are also expected to feel the impact, so people living in and around these zones need to plan ahead.
What BWSSB is and how far it reaches
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board is an autonomous body set up by the State legislature under the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board Act on 10-09-1964, tasked with water supply and sewage disposal for the city. It is one of the first water supply and sanitation utilities in India.
Its jurisdiction stretches across the entire Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike area of 800 sq km. That includes the Bengaluru core area of 245 sq km, eight urban local bodies spread over 330 sq km (seven city municipal corporations and one town municipal corporation), and 110 villages covering 225 sq km.
The big projects behind the network
Since it was formed, the board has executed several water supply and sewage schemes for the city. Among them is the prestigious Cauvery Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) Stages I, II, III and Stage IV Phase I and Phase II, along with sewerage improvement projects focused on collecting, conveying and treating sewage.
The existing sewerage system covers 265 sq km of the city's core area. Within it, three major Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) have been built at the Vrishabhavathi, K&C and Hebbal valleys. Meanwhile, the sewerage system for the newly added areas, mainly the erstwhile city municipal corporation zones, is nearing completion.
