Cauvery water for 72 wards, finally-Bangalore-Cities-The Times of India

Cauvery water for 72 wards, finally-Bangalore-Cities-The Times of India: "

f you've been eagerly waiting to get Cauvery water through your taps, your wait could end by this month-end, provided you pay up the user fee with fine. That could well be Rs 2,700, Rs 5,400 and Rs 8,100.New areas added to Greater Bangalore had been promised drinking water by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). They will finally get 100 MLD (million litres per day) water.After delaying work for over two years, the board has completed laying pipelines and giving connections to 72 wards in the erstwhile seven CMCs and and one TMC. The glitch is that BWSSB has made no effort to remind its consumers to pay up the beneficiary capital contribution as part of the Greater Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Project (GBWASP) scheme initiated in July 2005. Consumers in these areas will be supplied water when they pay up their capital fund along with a fine amount incurred for not paying it on time.

Now that the board seems certain about delivering as per the latest deadline, is is informing consumers about it? "We haven’t made any public announcements as there have been many delays in the project. This time we are certain of supplying water to these wards by November end, and efforts are on to approach people with a copy of all formalities they need to adhere to," said BWSSB chairperson Latha Krishna Rao.The board is preparing a booklet, which has details on the government order highlighting all aspects of the GBWASP scheme. Consumers will also receive a free application form with the booklet.

"We are giving away 1.5 lakh application forms free, for which we usually charge Rs 30. The booklets will be distributed by the end of this month," she added.

BWSSB will also release advertisements and conduct awareness campaigns in the identified wards of Bommanahalli, Byatarayanapura, Dasarahalli, Krishnarajapuram, Mahadevapura, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Yelahanka and Kengeri.As of now, only 25% of the consumers have paid the required fees. Hopefully, the rest will follow suit.

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