 "Bengaluru water crisis. PTI.")
Taps in Bengaluru are running dry, people in the city are considering relocating as the water crisis looms large and amid Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state has enough storage of drinking water in Cauvery and Kabini, which is sufficient to last till June.
“There is 11.04 TMC water storage in KRS, 9.02 TMC in Kabini,” the chief minister said.
Also, the Congress-led Karnataka government will be drilling bore wells at 313 places and 1,200 inactive bore wells will be revived, he said.
Bengaluru facing shortage of 500 million litres of water
Talking to the media, Siddaramaiah shared how Bengaluru is falling short of potable water in the IT hub of India.
He said Bengaluru is currently facing a shortage of 500 million litres of water per day (MLD).
Bengaluru’s actual requirement of water
The minister said the actual requirement of water in Bengaluru in 2,600 MLD.
Borewells in Bengaluru have dried
Bengaluru has 14,000 borewells of which 6,900 have dried.
“Water bodies have been encroached or died. Bengaluru needs 2,600 MLD of water. Out of this, 1,470 MLD comes from the Cauvery river and 650 MLD from borewells. We have a shortage of about 500 MLD,” Siddaramaiah said after his meeting with the officials of civic agencies and the Irrigation Department.
Karnataka govt hopes to provide water to 110 villages in June
Pinning hope on the Cauvery Five project to help quench Bengaluru’s water demand, Siddaramaiah said, “with the help of the project, which will commence in June, the government will be able to cater to 110 villages, which were added to the Metropolitan Bengaluru Municipal Corporation in 2006-07, he noted.”
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More ShortsEnough storage of drinking water to last till June
Siddaramaiah, in an attempt to allay fears, said Karnataka has enough storage of drinking water in Cauvery and Kabini, which is sufficient to last till June. “There is 11.04 TMC water storage in KRS, 9.02 TMC in Kabini,” he added.
The Congress-led Karnataka government also will be drilling bore wells at 313 places and 1,200 inactive bore wells will be revived, the CM said.
How government is bracing to address shortage?
Siddaramaiah said all the concerned officials have been instructed to use all private tankers, including the ones from Karnataka Milk Federation in slums, upland areas, 110 villages and bore well-dependent areas.
Also, orders were given to increase the number of task forces to respond to complaints immediately and not to use drinking water in parks.
The Chief Minister also said his government will fill up dried lakes in Bengaluru with treated water as has been done in KC Valley.
“There is no shortage of funds to provide drinking water,” he said.
With inputs from PTI