Bengaluru: Metro seepage to water Cubbon Park

Bengaluru: The leaking underground Metro stations may have angered many commuters, but BMRCL is finding ingenious ways to make use of large volumes of water collected in their tanks. In addition to rain water, there is a constant seepage of ground water at these underground stations.

The water collected in Cubbon Park and Vidhana Soudha may soon be used to irrigate the city’s 300-acre lung space - Cubbon park. BMRCL has agreed to collect and divert the water to the Horticulture Department at Cubbon Park.

“The water seepage is most at Vidhan Soudha and Cubbon Park underground metro stations. It is collected and stored in a huge tank. Nearly 1 lakh litres of water is accumulated underground every day and is later pumped out. It has to be cleared daily, so we plan to send it to Cubbon Park,” said Vasanth Rao, Chief Public Relations Officer, BMRCL. Currently the water is being released into storm water drains, he added.

An official source said the water would be collected in a tank near Grand Post Office and directed to the Cubbon Park nursery.

Deputy Director of Cubbon Park Mahantesh Murgod said, “There is a lot of water collected from the stations. We requested the Metro authorities to send it through a pipe to our underground tank. This will naturally be useful for us, but it is yet to begin."

The move is expected to help Cubbon Park tide over water scarcity during lean summer months. Cubbon Park and Lalbagh depend largely on treated water from Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage board, which is a costly affair.

For Cubbon Park alone nearly 1 to 1.5 million litres per day (MLD) is purchased from the BWSSB waste water recycling unit at Rs 20 per kilo litre. 

The overall department cost for treated water goes up to Rs 6 lakh per month.