Reservoir not shining in platinum jubilee year

Reservoir not shining in platinum jubilee year

Reservoir not shining in platinum jubilee year


A picture from BWSSB archives shows Sir M Visvesvaraya (centre) inspecting construction works of the dam
Kavitha Kushalappa
First Published : 05 Sep 2009 04:49:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 06 Sep 2009 08:53:18 AM IST

BANGALORE
: In parched and expanding Bangalore, year 2008 passed by unsung.

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) literally fought shy of it. It was the platinum jubilee of the Thippagondanahalli (TG Halli) reservoir, but as officials put it, what was the cause for jubilation when the tank's source itself is sapped? It was also a strange coincidence that the jubilee year of one of the city’s vital water sources followed the expansion of the city’s administrative area as Greater Bangalore in 2007.

Chamarajasagar otherwise known as TG Halli Reservoir was built across River Arkavathy in 1933. It originally served the city 135 mld (million litres of water per day). The current pumping capacity is just about 60 mld to 70 mld. These days, the average water level in the 74-foot storage tank is just about 30 feet. It was learnt to be 26 feet on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a Rs 130-crore project on rehabilitation of the treatment plant and pumping station has also hit a roadblock. “Justifying the investment on revival, when there has been a progressive decrease in the flow of water to the reservoir, is difficult,” a BWSSB chief engineer told Express noting that the question came up when the project was listed for funds from the JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission).