Bengaluru: Cauvery water supply project launched for 110 newly added villages under BBMP

The Cauvery water supply project for 110 newly added BBMP villages will be inaugurated on October 16, providing 50,000 new connections. The Rs 4,336 crore initiative aims to deliver 775 MLD of water, benefiting 5 million people and addressing Bengaluru's water challenges.

The long-awaited Cauvery water supply project for 110 villages recently added to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is set to be inaugurated on Wednesday. With this initiative, 50,000 new water connections will begin supplying drinking water from the Cauvery River, starting immediately.

These 110 villages, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru and incorporated into the BBMP in 2007, have primarily relied on borewells and alternative water sources. The Cauvery Phase 5 project, launched in 2014, aimed to provide these areas with a more reliable water supply. Now that the project has reached completion, the first phase of water supply will commence, bringing much-needed relief to residents.

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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will officially inaugurate the project on October 16. 

D.K. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Minister of Water Resources and Bengaluru Urban Development, highlighted the significant progress made on the Cauvery 5th stage project, which had faced delays in the past. Under his leadership, efforts have accelerated to address Bengaluru's persistent water challenges, particularly following the inauguration of the Ettinahole project.

The Water Board has embraced the slogan, “Mane Manegu Cauvery Water - It's Prosperous Bengaluru,” to promote the initiative. The project includes the construction of a state-of-the-art water treatment plant, which will draw water from the Nettakal Sama Tolana Dam. The supply system will distribute Cauvery water to 400,000 connections via the TK Halli, Harohalli, and Tataguni pumping stations, ultimately benefiting around 5 million people. The project aims to provide an additional 775 million litres per day (MLD) of water.

The total expenditure for this ambitious project is Rs 4,336 crores, with advanced Japanese machinery and French technology employed to ensure quality at every phase. The project has seen an impressive 2.4 crore man-hours of labour and utilized 1.45 lakh metric tonnes of steel. Funding has been secured through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which will be repaid over the next decade.

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To combat illegal water connections, the water Board plans to conduct registrations for Cauvery water connections in the remaining phases, including the fifth stage. This initiative aims to provide residents with a streamlined process to access water connections, including online applications, thereby helping to curb illegal connections. The Jal Board is committed to implementing multiple strategies to alleviate water shortages in Bengaluru.

As part of the initiative, the distribution of water connections will be as follows: 48,000 connections in 13 villages of the Yeshavantpur Assembly Constituency, 37,500 in 6 villages of the Dasarahalli Assembly Constituency, 73,500 in 26 villages of the Byatarayanpur Assembly Constituency, and 96,750 in 6 villages of the Bangalore South Assembly Constituency. Additionally, 93,100 water connections will be provided in 33 villages of the Mahadevpur Constituency. Plans are also in place to extend water supply to villages in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bommanahalli, and KR Puram assembly constituencies.