BWSSB to go for pre-commission trial of Cauvery V Stage by end of July for supply of piped water to 110 villages near Bengaluru

Cauvery V Stage is expected to supply piped water to 110 villages near Bengaluru.

Though all work on Cauvery V Stage is complete, residents of 110 villages near Bengaluru, who have been waiting for piped water for over a decade, may have to wait a little longer. 

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is expected to start the pre-commission trial of Cauvery V Stage by the end of July. The board is waiting for power connection to the pipeline network, and an on-site inspection by Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, who also hold the Bengaluru Development portfolio, to begin the pre-commission trial.

“The electrical inspectorate has completed its inspection. We expect power connection by July 10, after which we can go for a trial run. The pre-commission trial will take 21 days. If any gaps are found in the pipeline network during the trial run, they need to be rectified before we commission it,” explained V. Ram Prasath Manohar, Chairman, BWSSB. 

Many residents fear that the board will encounter gaps in the pipeline network.

Kochu Shankar, a resident of Horamavu, one of the 110 villages, said, “BWSSB laid the pipeline in our area giving water connection to individual houses in 2019. We were forced to pay up (Beneficiary Contribution Charge) under the assurance that water would come in a year. It has been five years since then. During this time, these pipelines have not been used even once. There has been a lot of construction activity, digging of roads in our area and the other villages, making it highly unlikely that BWSSB will find its pipeline network completely fit to go for commissioning. We anticipate more delays.” 

Cauvery V Stage draws 770 MLD (around 10 tmcft of water from river Cauvery annually) for supply of piped water to 110 villages. Work on the project began in 2018, almost a decade after these areas were added to the civic limits of Bengaluru. The project, which was taken up with a ₹5,500 crore loan from Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA), missed several deadlines, mainly due to disruption of work during the pandemic years. Work is now complete. 

BWSSB estimates that Cauvery V Stage will serve at least 4 lakh water connections, both residential and commercial. At present, the number of connections already availed is pegged at a mere 55,000, less than 15% of the target.