Each ward in Bengaluru to have two nodal officers to manage water supply

Bengaluru civic body appoints ward engineers and BWSSB officers to manage water supply in outer zones effectively.

The city’s civic body will appoint a ward engineer exclusively to manage the water supply for every ward in the outer zones not serviced by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). An Assistant Engineer (AE) rank officer from BWSSB will also be deployed as a coordinator in these wards. The two will serve as nodal officers for managing the drinking water supply in these areas.

“We will publish the names and contact numbers of all these personnel on our website and at ward offices. The public can reach out to them regarding their water woes, and they will address them,” Chief Civic Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said. 

These officials will be in charge of the distribution of free water to dry pockets dominated by the poor in these wards, address complaints about local water supply schemes of BBMP from borewells and enforce the maximum price for water tankers that will be fixed soon, Mr. Giri Nath said. 

Meanwhile, BWSSB has written to the Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru (Urban), requesting him to commandeer 200 water tankers invoking The Disaster Management Act, 2005, for BBMP and BWSSB to use them to supply free water in the outer zones. 

“Of these 200 tankers, 100 tankers will be handed over to the BBMP, and we will supply free water to 110 villages. This initiative is not for every house but will focus on where the need is high and on slum pockets and areas dominated by the poor. Using another 100 tankers, BWSSB will supply water to erstwhile 7 City Municipal Councils (CMC) and  Town Municipal Council (TMC) areas, based on the same criteria,” Mr. Giri Nath said. 

BWSSB has 68 tankers which it is using to supply free water to 257 dry patches in core city areas. “To increase efficiency, we are fixing high-density plastic tanks with taps at such points and refilling them using tankers. A total of 108 tanks have been established,” said Ram Prasath Manohar, Chairman of BWSSB.