Leave it to the experts, says BWSSB

Bangalore: The BDA and BBMP often meddle in the work of repairing or laying water supply and drainage lines, which is actually the prerogative of the BWSSB. Since they often hire cheap and incompetent contractors who use substandard materials, the work is shoddy and eventually needs to be done all over again.

Though the BBMP commissioner has instructed BBMP staffers not carry out work that comes under the water supply board, it is still being done. BDA realised the folly of meddling in areas it has no expertise in, after it tried its hand at underground sewage and water supply line repair work at Banashankari 6th stage and Dairy Circle. The work entailed replacing a water pipeline and underground drainage work, and it failed miserably. The pipe started leaking again and the work had to be redone.

“It’s a pathetic state of affairs as manpower is wasted, funds are wasted, time is wasted, and there is more inconvenience to commuters and residents of those areas. One should keep in mind that it is the taxpayers’ money that is being wasted,” said Venkataraju, chief engineer, BWSSB.

The BBMP is carrying out water works in many places in the city using corporators’ funds and local MLA funds. According to the BWSSB, around Rs 25 lakh has been allotted to each ward for water supply and underground drainage work. Some corporators have submitted the funds to the BWSSB, but quite a few have not. They are trying to make a quick buck by attempting it themselves, hiring cheap contractors who use substandard materials.

An example is Serpentine Street in Richmond Town. The underground drainage work here was carried out by the corporator and the local MLA. Residents complained that as soon as the work was finished, the leakage started again. “They had to dig it again, replace the pipes and then co­ver it. The work happened twi­ce because of lack of expertise,” said Vijay Kumar, a resident.

The BWSSB also accuses the BBMP of being responsible to some extent for the falling ground water levels. Corpo­rators are often involved in the water business, supplying water by tankers to their areas after purchasing it from a private agency at a higher price than what BWSSB charges, which is Rs 360 per load.

“No official permission or appr­oval is taken from the BWSSB for digging a bore well and this is becoming a major problem as ground water is drastically reducing, to dangerous levels. As per rules and regulations, the competent authority is the BWSSB along with the geology department, whose app­roval is necessary to put a bore well in the city,” BW­SSB’s chief engineer Venkataraju said.