Bengaluru, 22 March

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has issued an order to take over borewells at construction sites. They will instead provide treated water for the construction works.

BWSSB Chairman Ram Prasath Manohar said: "Now it is important to regulate the use of treated water for construction purposes, especially for buildings exceeding 20,000 square feet."

BWSSB held a meeting with 338 major builders and them that the board would provide 1,300 MLD water daily for their needs.

BWSSB has decided to cut water supply to bulk customers by 20 per cent from 15 March. The city's has around 3 lakh bulk consumers.

However, the BWSSB has passed the instructions to the institutions with more water connections, such as railways, HAL, Air Force, Defence, CRPF, Biocon, Nimhans, Victoria Hospital, and others, to raise awareness about water conservation on their premises.

Earlier the study conducted by IISc highlighted alarming trends in Bengaluru's urbanisation, with a sharp increase in built-up areas by 1055 per cent over the last few decades. However, what has gone unnoticed is the significant decrease in water spread area by 79 per cent and vegetation by 88 per cent over the same period, which led to the severe water crisis in the City. Currently, BWSSB has undertaken the initiative to fill 14 dried-up lakes with treated water, These lakes collectively can hold 316 MLD (Million Liters Day) of treated water aiming to contribute significantly to replenishing the water resources in the City.  Salar News