Karnataka Cabinet holds key meeting over Bengaluru water crisis; Deputy CM assures public of action

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 5 (ANI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and cabinet ministers, along with officials, and secretaries of respective departments, held a crucial meeting on Tuesday to address the shortage of drinking water in Bengaluru.

Water sources in many villages in the state have reportedly been depleted. Due to groundwater depletion, many borewells are slowly going dry, with more than 3000 borewells in Bengaluru.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, while speaking to ANI, said that he is ‘seriously looking’ into the matter.

“I am very seriously looking at it. I had a meeting with all the officials. We are identifying the points where water is available… More than 3000 borewells have dried up in Bengaluru…” he said.

Shivakumar further said that the borewell at his own house had dried up.

“We will see that we provide water at a very reasonable rate to all the people. We are worried about it because all the borewells, including the borewell at my house, have dried up…” the Deputy CM said.

On Tuesday, he warned the water tanker owners in the state that the government would seize their tankers if they do not register with the authorities before the deadline of March 7.

Addressing a press conference on Monday at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) head office, on the looming water crisis in Bengaluru, he said, “Of the total 3,500 water tankers in Bengaluru city, only 10 per cent, that is 219 tankers, have registered with the authorities. The government will seize them if they don’t register before the deadline.”

With the summer expected to be more severe this year, some 7,082 villages across Karnataka and 1,193 wards, including in Bengaluru Urban district, are vulnerable to drinking water crisis in the coming months as per an assessment made by the government as of February 10.

A report by the revenue department has identified the most number of villages in Tumakuru district (746) and the most number of wards in Uttara Kannada.

In Bengaluru Urban district, 174 villages and 120 wards are shown as vulnerable.