Rs 5,000 fine, special guards as Bengaluru societies look to ’protect’ water.

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore,5 March 2024: A housing society in Bengaluru will impose a Rs 5,000 fine on residents over the misuse of drinking water amid a severe water crisis in the city. A special security person will also be deployed to monitor the situation.

The Palm Meadows society is located in Whitefield, one of the worst-affected areas in the city due to the ongoing water crisis. The other severely-hit areas include Yelahanka and Kanakpura.

In a notice issued to all its residents, Palm Meadows said that it has not received water from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for the past four days.

It said that "we have been managing with our borewells and run the risk of depletion of groundwater very soon".

In order to deal with the grim situation, the community said it has decided to reduce water consumption by 20 per cent for each of its units.

"If the resident does not cut back water consumption by 20 per cent (and meet the target), there will be an additional charge of Rs 5,000," the notice said, adding that the reduction could increase as per the supply and is expected to go up by 40 per cent in the peak summer months.

It also warned of higher penalties for repeated violations, adding that a separate security person will be hired to intensify patrolling.

In a similar notice to residents of 2,500 of its units, the Prestige Falcon City Apartment Owners Association (PFCAOA) in Bengaluru’s crisis-hit Kanakpura told residents it received information that "RTO & BWSSB authorities are seizing all water tankers to ensure water delivery to areas facing severe water scarcity where there is no water available".

"As a result of this unprecedented action, our water sumps have been depleted, and we currently have no water available in them. At present, we only have water stored in the overhead tanks, which may not last much longer.

"At most, the water supply will be available for the next one hour. Once the OHTs run out of water, there will be no further water supply available to us."

Amid the looming crisis, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has issued a warning to water tanker owners across the state that their tankers will be seized if they do not register with the authorities by the March 7 deadline.

Addressing a press conference at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office, Bengaluru, he said, “Of the total 3,500 water tankers in Bengaluru city, only 10 per cent, that is 219 tankers, have registered with the authorities. The government will seize them if they don’t register before the deadline.”

“Water is not the property of any individual but is a resource that belongs to the government. The government has the right to take control of water sources,” he said.

The private water tankers are charging anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 2,000, he said, adding that "we will talk to the Association and fix a standard price".

“Of the 16,781 borewells in our records, 6,997 borewells have dried up. The remaining 7,784 borewells are operational. The government will be drilling new borewells,” he noted.

Shivakumar also announced that the state government has allocated Rs 556 crore to address water crisis in Bengaluru.

"Each MLA of Bengaluru city has been given Rs 10 crore to address water shortage in their respective constituency. Besides, BBMP has earmarked Rs 148 crore and BWSSB Rs 128 crore to address the issue."

He also informed that a war room had been set up to monitor the situation in real time.

“Senior officials and I will personally monitor the situation on a daily basis. It is the responsibility of the government to provide drinking water to the citizens. There is no need to be worried,” he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister also announced that empty milk tankers of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) will be used to store water in Bengaluru.

"We have decided to use milk tankers which are not in use to supply water. We will use tankers that are empty, clean them and use them."